Kalihati Upazila

Kalihati Upazila (tangail district) with an area of 301.22 sq km, is bounded by bhuapur and ghatail upazilas on the north, basail and tangail sadar upazilas on the south, sakhipur upazila on the east, sirajganj sadar and belkuchi upazilas and the jamuna river, on the west. Main rivers of the upazila are Jamuna, Lohajang, Old Dhaleshwari, Bangshi, Nangal; depression 17, most of which noted are Charan, Baisha, Kumar and Talla Beels.

Kalihati (Town) consists of 9 wards and 17 mahallas. It has an area of 2.39 sq km. The town has a population of 29823; male 50.26%, female 49.74%. The literacy rate among the town people is 26.9%. The density of population is 12478 per sq km.

Administration The Kalihati thana was established in 1928 and was turned into an upazila in 1983. The upazila consists of one municipality, 12 union parishads, 267 mouzas, 314 villages. 

Religious institutions Mosque 397, temple 17, tomb 2 and sacred place 2. Most noted religious institutions are Kalihati Central Jami Mosque, Balla Jami Mosque, tomb of Shah Ekin, Kalihati Central Joykali Mondir, north Betdoba Baro Kali Mondir.

Population 354959; male 51.55%, female 48.45%; Muslim 90.02%, Hindu 9.2%, Buddhist 0.14%, Christian 0.15%, others 0.49%.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 27.5%; male 35.1%, female 19.2%. Educational institutions: college 3, higher secondary school 34, madrasa 77, government primary school 103, non-government primary school 30, technical educational institution 3. Noted educational institutions are Kalihati R S P High School (1915), Satutia Government Primary School (1926) and Chatipara Primary School (1916).

Cultural organisations Library 3, rural club 189, theatre group 5, cinema hall 10, women's organisation 22, playground 34 and music institution 3.

Main occupations Agriculture 41.35%, fishing 1.43%, agricultural labourer 16.03%, wage labourer 2.9%, loom 4.16%, industries 3.96%, commerce 10.93%, transport 1.98%, service 8.72%, others 8.54%.

Land use Total land under cultivation 23103 hectares, fallow land 288 hectares; single crop 46%, double crop 50%, treble crop 4%; land under irrigation 60%.

Land control Among the peasants 52.64% are landless and marginal, 35.66% small, 9.60% intermediate and 2.1% rich; cultivable land under cultivation is 0.07 hectare.

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

Main crops Paddy, wheat, corn, mustard seed, potato, ginger, garlic, onion and varieties of pulse and vegetable.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed, kusum and mug dal.

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

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Fishery 38, diary 92, poultry 113, hatchery 68.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 42.65 km, semi pucca 4.50 km, mud road 305.30 km; railways 12.8 km.

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

Manufactories Rice and flour mill 60, ice factory 9.

Cottage industries Weaving 2300, goldsmith 72, blacksmith 250, bamboo worker 175, wood work 42, tailoring 249, welding 35, bidi 3. Balla cotton sari is famous.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 26, most noted of which are Balla, Bhandeshwar, Kastoripara, Elanga, Shaya, Isapur, Bagutia, Poujan and Kalibari; fairs 5 (Bijaya Dasami Mela, Baruni Mela at Fultala and Bangra and Chaitrasankranti Mela at Sahadevpur).

Main exports Banana, onion, garlic, potato, papaya, ginger, and jackfruit.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, CARE, proshika and Swanirvar Bangladesh, Adarer Alo, Palli Unnayan Sangshta, PKS.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, health and family planning centre 11, non-government health and charitable dispensary 2 and child care maternity centre 10.