Muradnagar Upazila

Muradnagar Upazila (comilla district) with an area of 339 sq km, is bounded by nabinagar upazila on the north, chandina and debidwar upazilas on the south, Debidwar, brahmanpara and kasba upazilas on the east and daudkandi, homna and bancharampur upazilas on the west. Main rivers are Gumti and Buri Nadi; jalmahal 4.

Muradnagar (Town) consists of 2 mouzas. The area of the town is 10.53 sq km. It has a population of 18325; male 50.29%, female 49.71%; density of population is 1740 per sq km. Literacy rate among the town people is 34.9%.

Administration Muradnagar thana was established in 1858 and was turned into an upazila in 1983. The upazila consists of 21 union parishads, 154 mouzas and 301 villages.

Historical events National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam married at village Daulatpur. The home-stead of Nazrul Islam's in-law has now turned into Kabi Nazrul Smriti Niketan. During the War of Liberation quite a number of direct encounters were held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army and Razakars in which several freedom fighters were killed.

Population 417204; male 50.50%, female 49.50%; Muslim 90.6%, Hindu 9.39% and others 0.01%.

Religious institutions Mosque 280, temple 46, tomb 8, place pilgrimage 1; Bhutail Sarkarbari Mosque, Sonakandha Pirbari Mosque, Kashimpur Pirbari Mosque, Muradnagar Mosque, Nabipur Mandir, Sreekail Kalibari and Ramchandrapur Kalibari.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 30.6%; male 38% and female 23.2%. Educational institution: college 17, high school 80, madrasa 49, government primary school 149, non-government primary school 40. Noted educational institutions: Bangra High School (1887), Ramchandrapur High School (1918), Sreekail College (1942).

Cultural organisations Rural club 40, press club 2, public library 1, museum 1, cinema hall 5, playground 32.

Locally published newspapers and periodicals Monthly Bihanga and Muradnagar.

Main occupations Agriculture 44.14%, commerce 12.3%, service 7.68%, transport 1.97%, weaver 2.21%, agricultural labourer 16.89%, wage labourer 3.07%, fishing 1.58% and others 10.16%.

Land use Cultivable land 28621.28 hectares; fallow land 198.70 hectares; single crop 23.83%, double crop 63.88% and treble crop land 12.29%; land under irrigation 9117.36 hectares.

Land control Among the peasants 35% are landless, 30% small, 25% intermediate and 10% rich; cultivable land per head 0.07 hectare.

Value of land The market value of the land of the first grade is Tk 7500 per 0.01 hectare.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, linseed, sesame, chilli, onion and pulses.

Extinct or nearly extinct crop Jute.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana and black berry.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 66 km, mud road 12 km.

Traditional transport Palanquin (nearly extinct).

Manufactories Bidi factory 4, rice mill 7, ice factory 4 and welding 40.

Cottage industries Weaving 1200, goldsmith 96, blacksmith 70, potteries 80 and tailoring 300.

Hats, bazars and fairs Total number of hats and bazars is 80, most noted hats and bazars are Ramchandrapur, Companiganj, Hatkhola, Pipdia Hat. There is a mention of Ramchandrapur Bazar as a rice export centre in William Hunter's Statistical Account of Bengal.

Main exports Rice and mustard seed.

Mineral resources Bakharabad Gas Field (one of the largest gas fields in Bangladesh) is located at Sreekail of this upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important ngos is brac.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 5 and family planning centre 9.

Brahmanpara Upazila

Brahmanpara Upazila (comilla district) with an area of 128.90 sq km, is bounded by kasba and muradnagar upazilas on the north, burichang upazila on the south, Indian state of tripura, Kasba upazila on the east and debidwar, Muradnagar upazilas on the west. Main rivers are gumti, Salda and Ghungur; Makimpur Go-bak Beel, Shaitshalar Dam, Pellar Beel, Baroni Beel at Jamtali are noted depressions.

Brahmanpara (Town) consists of two mouzas. The area of the town is 1.97 sq km. The town has a population of 3059; male 53.42%, female 46.58%; population density is 1553 per sq km. Literacy rate among the town people is 41%; male 43.40%, female 36.3%.

Administration Once Brahmanpara was included in Kasba thana and it was included in Burichang thana in 1954. In 1968, Brahmanpara police out post was established and in 1976 it was separated from Burichang thana and became an independent thana. It was turned into an upazila in 1983. The upazila consists of 8 union parishads, 53 mouzas and 65 villages.

Archaeological heritage and relics Tombs of Panch Pir (1815) west side of the Shashidal Rail Station, Shaitshala Jami Mosque (1719), Shiva Mandir (eighteenth century) at Chandla, Math and sacred place (1822) at Harimangal, Ramnagar elongated Math (1705) and Rammahan Mandir (1805) at Shaitshala.

Historical events During the war of liberation a battle was fought between the Pakistan army and the freedom fighters (under the command of honourary Captain Md. Wahab) on the bank of the Ghungur River at Holaimuri (border of Kasba and Brahmanpara). In this battle, 15 members of the Pak army including a Captain were killed. The Pak army later established camps at nearby Chandala and Shaitshala Villages and killed more than one hundred villagers.

Marks of War of Liberation Mass grave on the bank of a pond at Harimangal near the Railway; mass killing sites premises of Bhuiya Bari at north Chandala and premises of Probad Kumar Das at south Chandala.

Population 161906; male 51%, female 49%; Muslim 96.14%, Hindu 3.36%, Christian 0.12%, Buddhist 0.10% and others 0.28%; ethnic nationals 8 families.

Religious institutions Mosque 155, temple 12, tomb 4 and sacred place 5. Noted religious institutions: Baghai Shah Jami Mosque, Shaitshala Jami Mosque, tombs of Panch Pir at Shashidal, Chandala Shiva Mandir, Math and place of pilgrimage at Harimangal, Ramnagar joint Math and Rammahan Mandir at Shaitshala.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 32.6%; male 40.25%, female 24.9%. Educational institutions: college 4, high school 26, madrasa 18, government primary school 53, non-government primary school 38, low cost school 9, satellite school 13 and maktab 178. Noted educational institutions: Shashidal Union High School (1890), Chandana K B High School (1920), Brahmanpara Bhagaban High School (1940), Madhabpur Sheikhlal High School (1911) and Sahebabad Degree College (1970).

Cultural organisations Voluntary organisation 44, club 44, public library 1, cinema hall 1, cooperative society 195, rural community centre 8.

Main occupations Agriculture 53.74%, agricultural labourer 17.23%, wage labourer 1.94% commerce 9.84%, service 9.67%, and others 7.58%.

Land use Total cultivable land 8970 hectares, fallow land 19.40 hectares, permanently uncultivable land 32 hectares; single crop 12.04%, double crop 44.89% and treble crop 43.07%; cultivable land under irrigation 92.74%.

Land control Among the peasants 4.49% are landless, 7.8% marginal, 77.9% small, 9.46% intermediate and 0.35% rich.

Value of land The market value of the land of the first grade is Tk 10000 per 0.01 hectare.

Main crops Paddy, jute, mustard seed, wheat, potato, onion, garlic, betel leaf and vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Linseed, kaun, sugarcane, varieties of pulse, shalgam, arahar, carrot, local variety of paddy.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, kamranga, karamcha, sharif phal.

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Fishery 3, poultry 15 and hatchery 3 (fish).

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 25 km, semi pucca 2 km, mud road 278 km; railways 7 km, railway station 2; waterways 27 nautical mile.

Traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage, bullock cart, gaina nauka (boat), kosha nauka and dinghi nauka. These means of transport are either extinct or nearly extinct.

Manufactories Rice mill 44, oil mill 10, flour mill 45, ice factory 9 and saw mill 20.

Cottage industries Weaving 11, bamboo and cane work 61, blacksmith 95, potteries 110, wood work 71, goldsmith 20, jute and cotton work 23, oil grinding 6, bakery 25, tailoring 72 and others 112.

Hats, bazars and fairs Total number of hats and bazars are 22, most noted hats and bazars are Sahebabad, Dulalpur, Chandala, Madhavpur and Malapara Hat. Fairs 16, noted fairs are Shiva Bali Mela at Chandala, Baishakhi Mela at Ramantar, Kalibari Mela at Sahebabad, Kalisiddha Mela at Shaitshala, Dayamay Mahautshab at Makimpur and Purnadham Mela at Austagram.

Main exports Jute, betel leaf and potato.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, grameen bank, proshika and Pages.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, sub health centre 3, union clinic 5, satellite clinic 64.

Burichang Upazila

Burichang Upazila (comilla district) with an area of 163.76 sq km, is bounded by brahmanpara upazila on the north, comilla sadar and barura upazila on the south, Tripura State of India on the east, debidwar and chandina upazilas on the west. Main rivers are gumti, Ghungur, Titi and Pagli.

Burichang (Town) consists of one mouzas. The area of the town is 3.73 sq km. The town has a population 7762; male 52.55%, female 47.45%; population density is 2080 per sq km. Literacy rate among the town people is 39.7%; the town has one dakbungalow.

Administration Burichang thana, now an upazila, was established in 1916. The upazila consists of 8 union parishads, 150 mouzas and 171 villages.

Archaeological heritage and relics Ranir Bangla of Rani Mainamati, wife of Raja Manik Chandra at Mainamati. Besides, many archaeological relics including image of Buddha, terracotta plucks and Buddhist relics have been discovered. These archaeological relics have great national importance of the glorious past.

Population 228479; male 51.68%, female 48.32%; Muslim 95.92%, Hindu 4.05% and others 0.03%.

Religious institutions Mosque 285, temple 21, tomb 9 and place of pilgrimage 1.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 34.3%; male 42.1%, female 25.9%. Educational institutions: college 7, high school 28, madrasa 21, government primary school 73, non-government primary school 96. Noted Educational institution: Fakir Bazar High School (1943), Burichang Ananda Pilot High School (1925), Kharataiya High School (1982), Mithilapur Government Primary School (1908) and Sreepur Senior Fazil Madrasa (1932).

Cultural organisations Rural club 42, public library 1, cinema hall 2, women's organisation 8, literary society 1, playground 18.

Main occupations Agriculture 56.64%, agricultural labourer 12.28%, wage labourer 1.86% commerce 10.23%, service 8.08%, transport 3.71% and others 7.2%.

Land use Total cultivable land 12942.53 hectares fallow land 3421.69 hectares, forestry 50.99 hectares; single crop 13.57%, double crop 74.91% and treble crop land 11.52%; cultivable land under irrigation 81.10%.

Land control Among the peasants 17% are landless, 21.50% marginal, 51% small, 10% intermediate and 0.5% rich; cultivable land per head 0.05 hectare.

Value of land The market value of the first grade land is Tk. 6000 per 0.01 hectare.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, onion, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Linseed, kaun, sugarcane, jute, sweet potato and tobacco.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya.

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Fishery 72, dairy 120, poultry 320 and hatchery 5.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca road 39 km, semi pucca 11 km, mud road 400 km; railways 10 km, railway station 1.

Traditional transport palanquin (extinct), horse carriage and bullock cart (nearly extinct), boat.

Manufactories Spinning mill 1, paper board factory 1, boiler mill 7, welding 9.

Cottage industries Weaving 127, bamboo and cane work 171, blacksmith 48, potteries 40, woodwork 106, goldsmith 7, tailoring 173 and cocoon production centre 1.

Hats, bazars and fairs Total number of hats, bazars and fairs are 19, most noted of which are Kangshanagar, Nanuar Bazar, Saheb Bazar and Fakir Bazar; noted fairs are Mainamati Mela and Baishakhi Mela at Nanuar Bazar.

Main exports Loom cloths, potato and vegetables.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, grameen bank, proshika, Pages and Islamic Samaj Unnayan Sangstha.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 6, EPI centre 192.