Rajarhat Upazila

Rajarhat রাজারহাট
Upazila
Rajarhat Location in Bangladesh
Coordinates: 25°48′N 89°33′E / 25.800°N 89.550°ECoordinates: 25°48′N 89°33′E / 25.800°N 89.550°E
Country	Bangladesh
Division	Rangpur Division
District	Kurigram District
Government
• Upazilla Parisad Chairman	Abul Hashem
• UNO	MD. Rafikul Islam
Area
• Total	166.23 km^2 (64.18 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	169,579
• Density	1,000/km^2 (2,600/sq mi)
Time zone	BST (UTC+6)
Postal code	5610
Website	রাজারহাট উপজেলা

Rajarhat (Bengali: রাজারহাট) is an Upazila of Kurigram District in the Division of Rangpur, Bangladesh. Since 1981 it had been a Thana and later on September 14, 1983 was turned into an Upazilla by the government.^[1]

Geography

Rajarhat is located at 25°48′00″N 89°33′00″E / 25.8000°N 89.5500°E, which is about 10 kilometer west to the Kurigram district center. It is surrounded by Phulbari and Lalmonirhat sadar upazilas on the north, Ulipur and Pirgachha upazilas on the south, Kurigram sadar upazila on the east, Lalmonirhat Sadar and Kaunia upazilas on the west. It has 27357 households and total area 166.23 km². There are two rivers namely Teesta and Dharla that passe through this upazilla.

Demographics

As of the 2011 Bangladesh census, Rajarhat has a population of 192689 with population density of 945 per square kilometer.^[2] Males constitute 50.52% of the population, and females 49.48%. Upazila's adult (over 18) population is 72315. The average literacy rate of the people is 40.66% with 46.62% of male and 34.65% of female being literate.^[1]

Economy

The economy of Rajarhat is mainly based on agriculture where 70.32% of the total income comes from agriculture. Other sectors contributing to economy are non-agricultural labourer (4.91%), commerce (10.75%), transport and communication (1.90%), service (5.20%), industry (0.74%) construction (0.45%), religious service (0.15%), rent and remittance 0.16% and others (5.42%).

• Total cultivable land: 30109.30 acre
• Main crops: Paddy, wheat, jute, betel nut, maize, potato, vegetables, bamboo

Points of interest

• Sindurmati Dighi
• Chandamari Mosque
• Pangeshwari Temple
• Gharialdanga Zamindar Bari
• Panga Rajbari
• Two cannons ascribed to Fate Khan and Kalu Khan (Panga Rajbari)
• Shiva Mandir at Koteshwar

Administration

Rajarhat has 7 Unions, 110 Mauzas/Mahallas, and 180 villages. The unions are:^[1]

• Rajarhat
• Chakirpasha (Chakirpashar)
• Nazimkhan
• Biddanand (Bidyananda)
• Umarmajid (Omar Majid)
• Sinai (Chhinai)
• Gharialdanga

Chakirpasha is the largest among all these unions. Similar to other upazillas in the country, Upazilla Parisad headed by an Upazilla Chairman who is elected in a direct vote of the people is the highest form of local government in Rajarhat Upazilla.

Education

• Literacy Rate: 57%
• Number of Colleges: 4
• Number of High Schools: 34
• Number of Madrasas: 45
• Number of Primary Schools (government run): 49
• Number of Primary Schools (private): 67

Rajarhat Govt. Girls High School, Rajarhat Pilot High School, Mir Ismail Hossain Degree College, Panga Rani Laksmi Priya High School etc. are some notable educational institute in Rajarhat.

Notable residents

• Abdullah Swahrawardi (former member of parliament)
• Jahingir Hossain Chowdhury (first chairman of upazilla parisad)
• Mahfuzul Islam Shamim (Govt Officer, Teacher, Writer & Social Activist)
• Haider Basuniya (poet and writer)
• Dr. Tuhin Wadud (university teacher and columnist)
• Raufun Basunia (Late leader of anti dictatorship movement)
• Brig Gen Mohammad Ali Mondal (Freedom Fighter and Famous Military Officer)

See also

• Upazilas of Bangladesh
• Districts of Bangladesh
• Divisions of Bangladesh

References

1. Md. Kamal Hossain (2012), "Rajarhat Upazila", in Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal, Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
2. "এক নজরে রাজারহাট উপজেলা". kurigram.gov.bd.