Tangail Sadar Upazila

Tangail Sadar Upazila (tangail district) with an area of 334.26 sq km, is bounded by kalihati upazila on the north, nagarpur and delduar upazilas on the south, basail upazila on the east, belkuchi and chauhali upazilas on the west. Main rivers are jamuna, dhaleshwari and lohajang.

Tangail (Town) consists of 9 wards and 63 mahallas. The area of the town is 35.22 km. Tangail Municipality was established in 1887. It has a population of 128543; male 51.25%, female 48.75%. Density of population is 3650 per sq km.

Administration Tangail Sadar thana was turned into an upazila in 1983. The upazila consists of one municipality, 11 union parishads, 256 mouzas and 276 villages.

Archaeological heritage Santosh zamindar bari (now Science, Technology and Islamic University), Karatia zamindar bari, mosque and tomb.

Mark of War of Liberation Memorial 1.

Religious institutions Mosque 670, temple 89, tomb 3, most noted are Tangail Sadar Jami mosque, Karatia Jami mosque and Chandra Narayan Das temple.

Population 380518; male 51.05%, female 48.95%; Muslim 90.68%, Hindu 9.04%, Christian 0.05%, Buddhist 0.06% and others 0.17%.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 36.4%; male 42.2%, female 28.3%. Educational institutions: government college 3, non-government college 7, government high school 3, non-government high school 36, government primary school 116, non-government primary school 35, madrasa 12, technical institution 5, law college 1. Noted old educational institutions are Bangla School (1862) at Pathrail, Santosh Janhabi High School (1870), Government Bindubashini Boys' High School (1880), Government Bindubashini Girls' High School (1882), Rokeya Senior Madrasa (1925) and Government Sadat College (1926).

Locally published newspapers and periodicals Dailies: Dainik Mufassal, Dainik Deskotha, Dainik Majlumer Kantha, Ajker Telegram, Dainik Lokkatha; weeklies: Mou Bazar, Purbakash, Lauhajang, Khamos, Bidrahi Kantha, Weekly Parjukti, Mul Srata and Tangail Barta.

Cultural organisations Club 4, public library 1, cinema hall 6, theatre stage (Bhasani Hall) 1, theatre group 2, playground 20, women organisation 1.

Main occupations Agriculture 31.89%, agricultural labourer 13.74%, wage labourer 3.58%, weaving 3.9%, industry 3.13%, commerce 14.56%, transport 6.16%, service 10.7%, others 12.34%.

Land use Total cultivable land 23474 hectares, fallow land 355 hectares; single crop 20%, double crop 50% and treble crop 30%; land under irrigation 49%.

Land control Among the peasants, 36% are landless, 21% marginal, 18% small, medium 21% and 4% rich.

Value of land The market value of the land of the first grade is Tk 12000 per 0.01 hectare.

Main crops Paddy, jute, mustard seed, sugarcane, wheat, potato, ground nut, corn and vegetables.

Extinct and nearly extinct crops Varieties of pulses, linseed, sweet potato, china, turmeric, ginger, coriander and kalijira.

Main fruits  Mango, jackfruit, papaya bel and kul.

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Fishery 81, poultry 106, hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 40 km, semi pucca 2 km and mud road 264 km.

Traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage, bullock and buffalo cart. These means of transport are either extinct or nearly extinct.

Manufactories Flour mill 8, ice factory 20, rice mill 100, biscuit factory 2, bakery 6, engineering workshop 35, paper binding 10, PVC pipe 1, soap factory 7, saw mill 70, chira mill 12, oil mill 24, aluminum factory 2, dal mill 2.

Cottage industries Handloom 500, bidi factory 2, wood work 300, bamboo work 500, conch work 80, goldsmith 145, blacksmith 75, mini garment 12, shoe factory 6, honey cultivation 30, candle making 6 and shital pati 45. Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 22, most noted of which are Karatia, Aynapur, Pala, Pash Baithor, Suruj, Bagir bazar, Porabari, Jugni, Beguntal, Bhasaniganj hat.

Main exports Cotton and silk sari, jute, leather, sugarcane molasses, mustard seed, cabbage, cauliflower.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, Usha, Bureau Tangail, asa, Saves and SDS, Bela, Food for All, CARE, EDUS, Nari Unnayan Sangshta, ADAB Bangladesh, Bangladesh Womens' Coalition, Roussoe, SSS, Shetu, Upama, RASDU, Pashrik Parshad, Joutha Udyog and nijera kari.

Health centres Hospital 4, clinic 2, upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 17 and sub health centre 5.