Nawabganj Upazila

Nawabganj Upazila (dhaka district) with an area of 244.81 sq km, is bounded by singair upazila on the north, dohar upazila on the south, keraniganj, sirajdikhan and sreenagar upazilas on the east, harirampur and manikganj sadar upazilas on the west. Main rivers are dhaleshwari, ichamati and Kaliganga.

Nawabganj (Town) consists of 7 mouzas. The town has an area of 1.93 sq km. It has a population of 11486; male 51.35%, female 48.65%; density of population is 5951 per sq km. The literacy rate among the town people is 53.1%. It is believed that khwaja salimullah inaugurated this thana town towards the end of the nineteenth century. In honour of the Nawab this place is named Nawabganj. 

Administration Nawabganj thana, now an upazila, was established in 1974. The upazila consists of 14 union parishads, 178 mouzas and 305 villages.

Archaeological heritage and relics Bagmara Math and the remnants of the residence of Zamindar Khelaram Dada.

Population 269189; male 49.31%, female 50.69%; Muslim 77.19%, Hindu 20.74%, Christian 2.04%, Buddhist 0.01% and others 0.02%.

Religious institutions Mosque 475, temple 192, church 5, tomb 2, most noted of which is tomb of Hazrat Afaz Uddin Shah (R).

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 34.5%; male 38.5% and female 30.6%. Educational institutions: college 7, high school 24, junior high school 6, madrasa 9, government primary school 90, non-government primary school 19.

Cultural organisations Club 43, cultural society 2, cinema hall 4, theatre group 2, women's organisation 1.

Main occupations Agriculture 22.1%, agricultural labourer 13.27%, wage labourer 4.5%, fishing 2.9%, weaving 4.37%, industry 1.3%, commerce 12.2%, service 18.54%, construction 2.98%, house renting out 3.45%, and others 14.39%.

Land use Total cultivable land 18208.01 hectares, fallow land 6272.76 hectares; single crop 47.5%, double crop 37.8% and treble crop land 14.7%.

Land control Among the peasants 29% are landless, 30% small, 32% intermediate and 9% rich ; cultivable land per head 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, mustard seed, chilli, pulses and dhaincha plant (mostly used as fuel).

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Aus paddy, jute and tobacco.

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

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Poultry 39, dairy 140 and fishery 223.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 12 km, semi pucca 28 km and mud road 438 km; waterways 11 nautical mile.

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

Cottage industries Weaving, bamboo and cane work, goldsmith, blacksmith, tailoring, wood work, etc.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 25; Bairagi Poush Mela (Bandhanpara) and Afaz Uddin Shah Mela (Galinpur) are notable fairs.

Main exports Vegetables, chilli, cotton sari and lungi.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, grameen bank, Agrani Samaj Unnayan Sangstha, proshika and Grameen Kalyan Parishad.

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