Dohar Upazila

Dohar Upazila (dhaka district) with an area of 161.49 sq km, is bounded by nawabganj upazila on the north, the padma river and sadarpur upazila on the south, sreenagar and Nawabganj upazilas on the east, harirampur and char bhadrasan upazilas and the Padma river on the west.

Dohar (Town) The town is now a municipality with an area of 6.18 sq km and population 61828; male 49.08%, female 50.92%. It has 9 wards and 44 mahallas. Literacy rate among the town people is 34.76%. 

Administration Dohar thana, now an upazila, was established in 1926. The upazila consists of one municipality, six wards, 8 union parishads, 78 mouzas and 139 villages.

Historical events During the British period this region was controlled by the Hindu zamindars. Once indigo was being cultivated around Joypara of the upazila. During 1920s the people of Dohar were seriously influenced by the non co-operation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Avay Ashram was established here in 1922-23 following the ideals of Gandhi. The All India Convention of Gandhi Seba Sangha was held at village Malikandha of the Upazila in 1940. On this occasion Gandhi came here and stayed for two days.

Population 175842; male 49.41%, female 50.59%; Muslim 94.26%, Hindu 5.42%, others 0.32%.

Religious institutions Mosque 250, temple 31, pagoda 1, tomb 4, most noted of which are Upazila Jami Mosque, Joypara Jami Mosque, Mukshedpur Jami Mosque, Jagabandhu Sundar Ashram, Shiva Mandir (Roypara) and Joypara Harisava.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 32.9%; male 36.3% and female 29.6%. Educational institutions: college 3, high school 16, junior high school 4, madrasa 27, government teacher's training institute 1, government primary school 42, non-government primary school 11, satellite school 10, low cost school 6, kindergarten 14, vocational training institute 1. Noted educational institutions: Purbachar Primary School (1925), Joypara Pilot High School (1902), Joypara College (1972).

Cultural organisations Club 52, public library 5, cinema hall 4, literary society 1, auditorium 1.

Main occupations Agriculture 17.15%, agricultural labourer 11.45%, wage labourer 5.08%, commerce 14.08%, service 18.06%, construction 1.47%, fishery 1.7%, weaving 8.53%, transport 3.45%, house renting out 6.92%, and others 12.11%.

Land use Total cultivable land 6065 hectares; fallow land 516.68 hectares, khas land 397.11 hectares; single crop land 57.44%, double crop 32.55% and treble crop land 10.01%. Cultivable land under irrigation 85%.

Land control Among the peasants 30.55% are landless, 80.81% small, 16.06% intermediate and 3.13% rich; cultivable land per head 0.04 hectare.

Value of land The market value of the land of the first grade is Taka 10000 per 0.01 hectare.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, potato, mustard seed, onion, mustard seed, chilli, pulses and vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Linseed, sesame, indigo, kaun, kusum phul, kalijira, chhola, methi, garlic and sugarcane.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, papaya, guava, black berry, litchi, jamrul, bel, boroi, tetul and banana.

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Poultry 64, fishery 435, dairy 2.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 45 km, semi pucca 50 km and mud road 265.77 km; waterways 24 nautical mile.

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

Manufactories Cotton mill 1, saw mill 26, welding and steel works 270.

Cottage industries Weaving 4311, bamboo & cane work 18, wood work 130, goldsmith 78, blacksmith 9, potteries 37, tailoring 370, bidi 1, sweet meat work 21, chanachur work 20.

Hats, bazars and fairs Total number of hats and bazars are 23, most noted of which are Joypara, Kartikpur, Kacharighat, Palamganj, Dohar, Medhula and Narisha; fair 10, most noted of which are Nurullapur Bara Fakir Bari Mela, Katakhali Maulivi Bari Mela, Nagar Chowdhury Bari Mela, Roypara Rishi Mela and Latakhola-Joypara Durga Puja Mela.

Main exports Jute, chilly, banana, cane goods, lungi, chanachur.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are proshika, caritas, KDFH Health Service.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 4, satellite clinic 2 and veterinary hospital 1.