Population Thakurgaon District

Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila (thakurgaon district) area 683.45 sq km, located in between 25°40' and 25°59' north latitudes and in between 88°15' and 88°22' east longitudes. It is bounded by atwari and boda upazilas on the north, pirganj (thakurgaon) and birganj upazilas on the south, Boda,debiganj and Birganj upazilas on the east, baliadangi and ranisankail upazilas on the west.

Population Total 504428; male 260515, female 243913; Muslim 369486, Hindu 129794, Buddhist 3614, Christian 38 and others 1496. Indigenous communities such as santal, oraon, munda, Mushar and rajbanshi belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: tangon, nagar, Kulik, Pathari; Ulir Beel is notable.

Administration Thakurgaon Sadar Thana was formed in 1800 and it was turned into an upazila in 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	19	194	197	51785	452643	738	66.0	45.1

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
10.70	9	23	41854	3912	69.3

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
10.55	4	9931	941	51.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Auliapur 15	9183	12173	11631	45.13
Akcha 11	9479	11330	10600	40.90
Akhanagar 13	9048	11157	10792	40.30
Gareya 42	9337	15132	14333	48.57
Chilarang 31	8568	10976	10424	42.55
Jagannathpur 47	9637	17254	16143	42.55
Jamalpur 52	8195	12709	11987	50.63
Debipur 36	9328	11269	10506	46.28
Nargun 63	6538	10505	9778	41.51
Baragaon 26	7652	10279	9582	45.26
Balia 21	9087	12157	11815	36.40
Begunbari 17	8974	10246	9597	43.51
Mohammadpur 58	6499	12111	11292	49.68
Rahimanpur 68	8551	14316	13085	48.25
Rajagaon 79	8834	10537	9838	45.72
Roypur 73	9331	11924	11066	40.66
Ruhea 84	9524	17666	16709	78.59
Sukhanpukhari 94	8771	11098	10626	60.05
Salandar 89	9644	15585	14346	41.86

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001,Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Govinda Nagar Mandir, Jamalpur Jami Mosque, Karam Khan Garh, Brishamurti at Nargun Kaharpara, Khurram Khan Pond at Debipur, Govinda Jeu Mandir (eighteenth century), Shapla and Peala Dighi.

Historical events tebhaga movement spread over Thakurgaon extensively. During the Tebhaga Movement 35 peasants were killed and many were wounded when police fired on a procession. Direct encounters were held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at Bhulli, Gareya and Salandar in which many people were killed. The Pak army conducted mass killing and plundering; they also set many houses of the upazila on fire.

Marks of the War of Liberation Mass grave: Sukhanpukhari, Jhatidanga, Hater bridge, Pharabari and on the banks of river Tangon of Thakurgaon town; mass killing site: Sabdal Danga, BDR Camp.

Religious institutions Mosque 655, temple 120, church 19.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 47.4%; male 53.5%, female 40.9%. Educational institutions: technical college 1, teacher's centre 1, B.ED college 1, vocational training institute 1, vocational textile institute 1, youth training centre 2, college 9, secondary school 112, primary school 337. Noted educational institutions: Thakurgaon Government College (1957), Thakurgaon Zila School (1904), Thakurgaon Government Boys' High School (1904), Ruhea High School (1939), Madarganj MB High School (1945), Salandar Triple Kamil Madrasa.

Newspapers and periodicals Defunct daily: Thakurgaon Darpan, Sangrami Bangla, Gram Bangla, Bangladesh, Janarab; defunct literary periodicals: Aso Cheye Dekhi Prithibi, Usashi, Chalachitra.

Cultural organisations Library 10, club 68, cinema hall 10, theatre group 7, theatre stage 1, playground 43, shilpakala academy 1.

Important installations TV Relay Centre 1, Radio Station 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 65.07%, non-agricultural labourer 3.75%, industry 0.49%, commerce 11.94%, transport and communication 4.87%, service 6.97%, construction 1.32%, religious service 0.14%, rent and remittance 0.22% and others 5.23%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 57.16%, landless 42.84%; agricultural landowner: urban 43.90% and rural 58.58%.'

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, sugarcane, pulse, mustard, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Aus paddy, barley, jute.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, litchi, banana, papaya, watermelon.

Communication facilities Pucca road 108 km, semi-pucca road 11 km, mud road 805 km; railway 33 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, sugar mill, saw mill, flour mill, oil mill, textile mill, husking mill, ice cream factory, pipe factory, chemical and pharmaceutical industry, cold storage.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, weaving, manufacture of jute goods, bamboo work, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 45, fairs 6, most noted of which are Gareya Hat, Bhulli Hat, Shibganj Hat, Ramnath Hat, Khochabari Hat, Pharabari Hat, Chowdhury Hat, Baradham Mela, Ruhea Mela and Muktar Mela.

Main exports Rice, pulse, potato, mango, jackfruit, litchi, watermelon, sugar, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 23.59% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 91.86%, tap 0.68%, pond 0.35% and others 7.11%.

Sanitation 18.20% (rural 14% and urban 57.43%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 30.23% (rural 30.43% and urban 28.24%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 51.57% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, upazila health complex 1, union health centre 12, family planning centre 19, maternity 1, diabetic hospital 1, chest diseases hospital 1, veterinary hospital 1.

Thakurgaon District

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Thakurgaon District (rangpur division) area 1809.52 sq km, located in between 25°40' and 26°12' north latitudes and in between 88°05' and 88°39' east longitudes. It is bounded by panchagarh district on the north, Panchagarh and dinajpur districts on the east, west bengal state of India on the south and west.

Population Total 1214376; male 627200, female 587176; Muslim 924254, Hindu 278703, Buddhist 7156, Christian 131 and others 4132. Indigenous communities such as santal, oraon, munda, Mushar and rajbangshi belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: tangon, nagar, Kulik, Tirnai, Pathari; Katchna Beel is notable.

Administration Thakurgaon Sub-division was established in 1860 under the district of Dinajpur and was turned into a district in 1984. Of the five upazilas of the district thakurgaon sadar was the largest (683.45 sq km) and haripur is the smallest (201.06 sq km).

District
Area (sq km)	Upazila	Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
						Urban	Rural
1809.52	5	2	51	643	641	117823	1096553	671	41.8

Others Information of District
Name of Upazila	Area (sq km)	Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
Thakurgaon Sadar	683.45	1	19	194	197	504428	738	47.4
Pirganj	353.30	1	10	168	168	215754	611	41.3
Baliadangi	284.12	-	8	78	78	169771	598	39.2
Ranisankail	287.59	-	8	124	126	196134	682	35.1
Haripur	201.06	-	6	75	72	128289	638	34.1

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2001,Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

History of the War of Liberation On 17 April 1971, the Pak army brutally killed a number of Bangalis on the road side of the Bhatarmari Farm of Pirganj upazila. During the war of liberation the Pak army brutally killed 18 persons at village Belcha Zhikra of Baliadangi upazila. On 28 April, the Pak army shot two freedom fighters dead at village Chhota Palashbari and Bara Palashbari; besides, they also shot 9 innocent persons dead on the bank of the river Tirnai adjacent to the Kushaldangi Hat. On the same day, the Pak army killed 7 persons at Kaliganj. In 1971, direct encounters were held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at Bhulli, Gareya and Salandar of Thakurgaon sadar in which many people were killed and wounded. Besides, the Pak army conducted mass killing and plundering in Haripur upazila; they also set many houses of the upazila on fire.

Marks of the War of Liberation Mass grave 6; mass killing site 4.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 41.8%; male 48.4%, female 34.8%. Educational institutions: technical college 11, teacher's centre 1, B.ED college 1, vocational training institute 1, vocational textile institute 1, youth training centre 2, college 67, secondary school 358, primary school 865, community school 10, madrasa 77. Noted educational institutions: Thakurgaon Zila School (1904), Thakurgaon Government Boys' High School (1904), Pirganj Pilot High School (1907), Ranisankail Pilot High School (1914), Ranisankail Government Model Primary School (1917), Charta High School (1928), Lahiri high School (1932), Pirganj Government Model Primary School (1933), Haripur Bilateral High School (1936), Haripur Government Primary School (1953), Thakurgaon Government College (1957), Pirganj Degree College (1964), Ranisankail Degree College (1972).

Main sources of income Agriculture 76.74%, non-agricultural labourer 2.84%, industry 0.36%, commerce 9.05%, transport and communication 2.34%, service 3.91%, construction 0.76%, religious service 0.11%, rent and remittance 0.17% and others 3.72%.

Newspapers and periodicals Defunct daily: Thakurgaon Darpan, Sangrami Bangla, Gram Bangla, Bangladesh, Janarab, Uttar Hath, A Somoy, Swargam, Cinchan, Batikrama, Spandan, Chharpatra, Dipalaka, Bir Bangali, Raktakta Prantar, Durbadal, Rokter Rang Neel, Rokta Jhora Din; defunct literary periodicals: Aso Cheye Dekhi Prithibi, Usashi, Chalachitra; periodicals: Aangikar, oikantik, Samakal, Mukul, Abe Hayat, Rabindra Smaranika, Barshik Siri.

Folk culture Notable folk songs of the district include Jari, Sari, Bhawaya, Kabigan, Satta Pirer Palagan, etc. The other folk culture include Charak Puja, Ras Jatra, proverbs, riddle, rhymes, etc.