Gosairhat Upazila
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| Gosairhat Upazila | |
  Gosairhat
|
|
| Division_name - District |
Dhaka Division - Shariatpur District |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 167.86 km² |
| Time zone | BST (UTC+6) |
| Population (2001) - Density |
124014 - 739/km² |
| Postal | 8050 |
| Maplink: Official Map of Gosairhat | |
Gosairhat (Bengali: গোসাইরহাট) is an Upazila of Shariatpur District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Contents |
[edit] Geography & History
Gosairhat is located at . Total area of this upazila is 167.86 square kilometer. The upazila is bounded on the north by Damudya and Bhedarganj upazila, on the east by Haimchar upazila of Chandpur District, on the south by Muladi and Hizla upazila of Barisal District and on the west by Shariatpur Sadar upazila and Kalkini upazila of Madaripur District. Main rivers are Meghna, Jayantia and Dharmaganj.
Along with the rest of Bengal, Gosairhat came under the rule of the British East India Company after the defeat of the Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula to the company at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The area was administered as Madaripur subdivision which was established in 1854 under the then Bakerganj district. Madaripur subdivision was separated from Bakerganj district and annexed with Faridpur district in 1873. Gosairhat came into existence as a thana in 1921. Gosairhat was a big thana till 1975 when a segment of this thana was converted to Damudya thana and lately Upazila. In 1984 Gosairhat thana was separated along with other five thanas from Madaripur subdivision and Shariatpur District was created. Gosairhat is the second smallest upazila of Shariatpur district, in respect of both area and population.
Nothing is definitely known about the origin of the name Gosairhat. It is said that, in the past there lived a religious man of Hindu community named "Brommonanda Geeri" in the present place of the upazila headquarter. He was very pious and well known to all as Goshai (meaning: spiritual man). In course of time a weekly trading center (means hat in Bengali) was developed around the heritage of that Goshai and become popularly known as Gosairhat.
Gosairhat upazila is well known for Potty Launch station, which is one of the oldest launch stations of Bangladesh, where south bound launches stop. Potty was a prominent steamer station during British and Pakistan regime. In British India Idilpur pargana was one of the 8 remaining parganas of that time. It's headquarter was in Haturia of present Gosairhat upazila where a tehsil office and zamindar house are also still exists. Presently Idilpur is the largest union of Gosairhat upazila with 31,612 population.
[edit] Demographics
According to the census of 2001[1], Gosairhat upazila had a population of 124,014 distributed to 25,086 units of households (average household size is 4.9) including 61,801 are men and 62,213 are women. The sex ratio is 99 males per 100 females. The population ratio by religion in 2001 was Muslim 95% and Hindu and others 5%. The average population size of each union is 17716, for a mauza [2] it is 1531 and 591 for a village reported by the census. Out of the 84 mauzas, 11 have less than 50 households, while 11 have more than 600 households. Of the villages, 71 have a population of less than 250, while 9 have more than 2,500. As of 2001, the population density of Gosairhat upazila was 739 inhabitants per square kilometer (1,914 /sq mile). Most populated mauza is Dasherjangal (3,213 inhabitants per square kilometer). [3].
[edit] Administrative
There is an Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) who administers the upazila for the central government. Gosairhat upazila is organized into 7 Union Committees (Union Parishads), namely Idilpur, Nagerpara, Nalmuri, Goshairhat, Goriber Char, Kodalpur and Shamantasar. Each Union are managed by a Union Parishad Chairman. The area is divided into 84 mauzas and 210 villages. In 2006 Kuchaipatty union from adjacent Hizla Upazila of Barisal District was separated and annexed with Gosairhat Upazila. At present Gosairhat Upazila consists of 8 unions and 98 mauzas. There is an Upazila Health Complex consists of a 31 bedded hospital and 7 family planning clinics.
Gosairhat Upazila makes with Damudya, Bhedarganj upazila and Shakhipur thana the 222th electoral constituency of Bangladesh, identified as Shariatpur-3. In the 2001 parliamentary elections, Abdur Razzak of the Bangladesh Awami League was elected as the Member of Parliament. His main opposition came from Shafiqur Rahman Kiron of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
[edit] Economy
Agriculture is the main sources of economy which contribution is almost 70.86% as of 2001 census. Other sources are livestock, forestry, fishery, business, hawking, transport & communication and non-agricultural labor. Main crops are paddy, chilly, jute, paan (betel leaf) and khejurer gur (date tree molasses). Betel leaf is mostly exported to Dhaka and abroad also.
Rural economy of Gosairhat are operated by local 11 big hats and bazaars of which most noted are DasherJangal bazaar, Kodalpur bazaar, Nagerpara bazaar and Jushirgaon hat and Kacharir hat. Peasants come with there products for sale in hats which sit twice in a week.
[edit] Education
As of 2001 census average literacy rate of Gosairhat upazila is 32.0% (7+ years), where national average is 46.2%. [4]. The male literacy rate is 34.3% and female is 28.3%. There are 45 government primary schools and 28 non-government primary schools (from grades 1 to 5), 9 non government high schools (from grades 6 to 10), one degree college (from grades 11 to tertiary) and 8 madrasahs in this upazila. The Idilpur Pilot High School established in 1894, is the oldest institution of education in the upazila. Education is mainly offered in Bangla. English is also taught as a compulsory subject. A large number of muslim families send their children to attend part-time courses or even to pursue full-time religious education, which is imparted in Bangla and Arabic in Madrasahs and Maktabs.
[edit] Culture
Independence Day (March 26), International Mother Language Day (February 21) and Victory Day (December 16) are celebrated across the Upazila with due honor followed by cultural functions. Many schools organize fair and festivals which are enjoyed by citizens from all level of society. All educational institutions arrange annual sports competition and cultural functions which held generally in the winter.
Pohela Baishakh, is popularly celebrated by baisakhi mela (fair)[5] and cultural programs across the upazila. The businessmen renew their business relationship with customers by opening halkhata where a new book of accounts opens and closed the old one. The customers are invited and offered sweets and paan in this occasion. In Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Azha large number of muslims attend prayers in mosques and visit to the homes of relatives and friends. The Durga Puja is the most important Hindu festival of the year where large processions of Hindus perform devotional songs, dances, prayers and ceremonies for Goddess. The most popular dress for women is sari or salwar kameez while men usually prefer traditional shirt-pant, panjabi and lungi in the upazila.
Major national newspapers published in Dhaka including the Daily Ittefaq, Prothom Alo, Noya Digonta, Inqilab and Janakantha are available in Gosairhat. There is also a press club in Gosairhat. Satellite television channels like NTV, Channel i, ATN Bangla, Channel One, Ekushe TV, RTV, Boishakhi, Bangla vision as well as terrestrial television channel Bangladesh Television are available in the upazila. Radio programs are also very popular to the farmers. There are 18 clubs, one public library and one cinema hall in the upazila. The Royal Sporting Club is noted for it's participation in soccer. Football, volleyball, kabbadi, cricket are widely played by the students and young people of Gosairhat.
Dal-Bhat is the main food of the people of Gosairhat. Fish, meat, mixed vegetables are also eaten with bhat. Some people also take roti, pôroţa, bread, bhaji in the breakfast. Panta bhat and alu vorta (mashed potato) with dal and pora morich (burn chilly) is one the dish which is taken as breakfast by most of the village people. Biryani and chicken roast or polow, korma and meat rejala are commonly offered to visiting bridegrooms and as well as in weeding and birthday celebrations.
Rasgulla, sandesh, cham cham, mishti doi, kalo jaam, amerti and bundia[1] are available in sweetmeat stalls and are fond of all types of people. Pithas like bhapa pitha, puli pitha, pati sapta pitha, pakan pitha, and chitai pithas are eaten in winter season and celebration of the new crops. Jatra, circus, puppet shows are also arrange for entertainment in winter season.
[edit] Notable personalities
- Late Siraujuddin Ahmed: Eminent Muslim League leader of the then East Pakistan.
- Alhaj Shamsur Rahman (Shahjada Mia): Industrialist, donors of many educational institution and social activities.
- Mohammad Shamsul Alam: An eminent civil servant who is famed for infrastructural development of Gosairhat.
- Mosharraf Hossain, Executive Consultant and former M.D. of Mutual Trust Bank Ltd., an eminent banker.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ GR Error
- ^ Mouza. Retrieved on 2006-09-27.
- ^ Population Census Wing, BBS..
- ^ Area, Population and Literacy Rate by Upazila/Thana-2001. Population Census Wing, BBS.. Retrieved on September 03, 2007.
- ^ Pahela Baishakh. Retrieved on 2006-09-27.
