Sreemangal Upazila

Sreemangal Upazila (maulvibazar district) area 450.73 sq km, located in between 24°08' and 24°28' north latitudes and in between 91°36' and 91°48' east longitudes. It is bounded by maulvibazar sadar upazila on the north, tripura state of India on the south, kamalganj upazila on the east, chunarughat, bahubal and nabiganj upazilas on the west.

Population Total 318025; male 158706, female 159319; Muslim 183832, Hindu 129099, Buddhist 71, Christian 4266 and others 757.

Water bodies Main rivers: Bilash (Gopla), Gopbia, Phulchhari, Udnachhari, Barmachhari; Hail Haor is notable.

Administration Sreemangal Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1912. Municipality was formed in 1935.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	9	110	208	39757	278268	706	61.8 (2001)	45.8

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
16.20 (2001)	9	20	23031	1199 (2001)	66.5

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
-	1	16726	Ñ	64.3

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ashidron 15	11650	21377	21635	55.2
Kalapur 28	19193	18508	18431	40.0
Kalighat 38	11183	11600	11524	34.7
Bhunabir 19	8876	16419	17298	44.1
Mirzapur 47	11795	14701	14852	41.4
Rajghat 57	13732	13580	13529	33.8
Sreemangal 85	9258	27699	27379	62.9
Satgaon 66	7283	6361	6400	40.9
Sindurkhan 76	11517	16647	17054	46.0

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Nirmai Shiva Bari (1454 AD), copperplate of Raja Marundanath (11th century) discovered in village Kalapur and statue of god Ananta Narayan (discovered during excavation atvillage Lamua).

Historical events During the Peasant Movement at Balishira in 1963 two peasants were killed by police firing.

War of Liberation On 30 April 1971 the Pak army entered Sreemangal and conducted violation of women, rampant killing, torture, plundering; they also set many houses of the upazila on fire. Freedom fighters periodically attacked the Pak army at their camps at Sreemangal dakbunglow, WAPDA building and other places. They also carried out operations from their hideouts in tea gardens to fight with Pakistani soldiers. There are two mass graves at North Bharaura and South Bharaura and 2 mass killing site at BDR Camp and the backside of WAPDA office premises; a memorial monument has been built at North Bharaura.

For details: see শ্রীমঙ্গল উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৯।

Religious institutions Mosque 164, temple 38, church 1, sacred place 1, ramkrishna seba ashrama 2, akhra 6.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 48.3%; male 51.7%, female 45.0%. Educational institutions: college 4, technical training centre 1, secondary school 20, primary school 127, madrasa 7. Noted educational institutions: Sreemangal Government College, BTRI High School and College, The Birds Residential Model High School and College, Dashrath Multilateral High School (1896), Victoria High School (1924), Dobarhat Government Primary School (1882), Chandranath Government Primary School (1924), Chandranath Primary School (1934), Uttarsur Kulchandra Government Primary School.

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Khola Chithi; weekly: Sreemangaler Chithi, Sreebhumi, Sree Bani, Pubali Barta, Pubali, Chaer Desh, Sreemangal Porikroma; fortnightly: Banni Shikha.

Cultural organisations Library 4, club 34, theatre stage 30, theatre group 6, cinema hall 4.

Tourist spots Basu Deva Mandir at village Bhunadeva, Hail Haor, Lawachhara National Park, Bangladesh Tea Research Institute, Mini Museum of Sitesh Ranjan Dev, Bharaura Lake, Magurchhara Khasia Punji and gas field, Denston Cemetery.

Main sources of income Agriculture 30.90%, non-agricultural labourer 20.16%, industry 1.83%, commerce 14.72%, transport and communication 2.94%, service 10.06%, construction 1.29%, religious service 0.36%, rent and remittance 1.49% and others 16.25%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 33.21%, landless 66.79%; agricultural landowner: urban 39.46% and rural 32.38%.'

Main crops Tea, paddy, betel leaf, rubber, potato, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, sesame.

Main fruits Pineapple, jackfruit, lemon.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 10, dairy 55, poultry 30, hatchery 2.

Communication facilities Pucca road 140 km, semi-pucca road 21 km, mud road 416 km; railway 20 km; Rail Station 1.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Horse carriage, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Tea factory 15, flour mill 4, cold storage 2, ice factory 3, engineering workshop 14, rubber processing plant 2, timber treatment plant 1, boiler rice mill 2.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, potteries, weaving, bamboo work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 23, fairs 4, most noted of which are Mirzapur Hat, Satgaon Hat, Sindurkhan Hat, Sreemangal Hat, Bhairab Bazar Hat, Shiva Chaturdashi Mela at Nirmmai Shiva Bari, Kal Bhairabi Mela at Gandarvapur, Uttarsur Charak Mela and Bhimsi Mela.

Main exports Tea, pineapple, lemon, betel leaf.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 51.4% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Natural gas field 2.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 77.8%, tap 6.5% and others 15.7%.

Sanitation 50.8% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 30.2% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 19.0% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, hospital 2, family planning centre 5, health and family welfare centre 1, satellite clinic 2.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, caritas. [Gopal Dev Chowdhury]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Sreemangal Upazila 2007.