Jhalokathi District officially Jhalakathi District, () is a district in southern

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. It is located in the Barisal Division and covers an area of 758.06 km². It is bounded by

Barisal district Barisal District, officially Barishal District () is a district in south-central Bangladesh, it was formerly called Bakerganj district, and established in 1797. Its headquarters is in Barisal city, which is also the headquarters of Barisal ...

to the north,

Barguna district Barguna District (; ) is a district in Barisal Division, in southern Bangladesh. Barguna subdivision was established in 1969 and promoted to a district on 28 February 1984. Etymology There is not enough strong proof of naming the district. Som ...

to the east and the

Bishkhali river The Biskhali is a river of Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among th ...

in the south, and

Pirojpur district Pirojpur District () is a district in south-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Barisal Division. ফিরোজ সরদার ১৭০০ সালে এ অঞ্চলের গভীর বন জঙ্গল কেটে মানু ...

to the west. The main rivers in this district are the Bishkhali, Dhanshiri, Gabkhan, Sugandha, Jangalia, Bamanda and Bajitpur. "''পেয়ারা আর শীতলপাটি, এই নিয়ে ঝালকাঠি"'' "''(Jhalokathi, The land of tasty Guava and Shitolpati)"'' is the official motto of the district.

History

Jhalokati subdivision was established in 1972, shortly after the

Liberation of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. It was turned into a district in 1984. The 2021 Bangladesh ferry fire occurred on the

Sugandha River Sugandha River is a river in Bangladesh in the Barisal and Jhalokati districts. The length of the river is 21 km, and the average width is 400m. The identification number of the river given by the Bangladesh Water Development Board is River No ...

near the town.

Subdivisions

The district is administratively subdivided into 4

upazilas An ''upazila'' ( pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative division in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a borough of Western countries. Rural upazilas are ...

, these are: #

Jhalokati Sadar Upazila Jhalakathi Sadar (or Jhalokathi Sadar, ) is an upazila of Jhalokati District in Barisal Division, Bangladesh. Geography Jhalakathi Sadar is located at . It has 36,504 households and a total area of 159.46 km2. History At the start of Mugh ...

Kathalia Upazila Kathalia () is an upazila of Jhalokati District in Barisal Division, Bangladesh. Geography Kathalia is located at . It has 23,904 households and a total area of 152.08 km2. Kathalia is bounded by Bhandaria upazila of Pirojpur district to the ...

Nalchity Upazila Nalchity () is an upazila of Jhalokati District in Barisal Division, Bangladesh. History Some family members of Isa Khan moved from Sarail to Nalchity. Abdul Ghani Khan, a 14th-generation descendant of Isa Khan, is the current head of this bra ...

Rajapur Upazila Rajapur () is an upazila (sub-district) of southern Bangladesh's Jhalokati District, which is a part of Barisal Division. Geography Rajapur is located at . It has 28,131 households and a total area of 164.59 km2. History Rajapur Upazila i ...

Administration

District Council Chairman/Administrator: Khan Saifullah Panir Deputy Commissioner (DC): Md. Johar Ali

Transportation

*Roads & Highways: The district is connected to nearby districts such as Barisal and

Pirojpur Pirojpur () is a town in Pirojpur district in Barisal Division in southern Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eig ...

through regional roads. Local buses are readily available for these destinations. One can also go to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

and other places in the country through the N8 Highway. *Rural communications: Water transport is a major attraction in Jhalokati district. People can travel at a cheap cost by boats and various types of engine boats. Jhalokati is famous for its beautiful rivers and canals. Tourists can find it enjoyable to travel through boats.

Population

According to the

2022 Census of Bangladesh The 2022 Bangladeshi census () was a detailed enumeration of the Bangladeshi population constituting the sixth national census in the country. It was scheduled to be held in June 2022, was conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, and th ...

, Jhalokati District had 162,401 households and a population of 661,160 with an average 4.02 people per household. Among the population, 121,894 (18.44%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 935 people per km². Jhalokati District had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 83.21%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 1088 females per 1000 males. Approximately, 27.85% of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 203.

Religion

A large majority of the district population is Muslim. It has 2475

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s, 46 Hindu

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

s and five Buddhist

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

s. The percentage share of minority Hindus and Christians has seen a decline in absolute numbers since the 1981 census. After partition, many Hindus of the area migrated to West Bengal now in India. Most of the local residents speak a native dialect of Bengali, known by fellow countrymen as "Barishailla".

Notable personalities

Maqsudullah Maqṣūd Ullāh ibn Thanāʾ Ullāh ibn Ḥijr Ullāh al-Ghāzī (; 1883–1961), commonly known as Maqsudullah (), was a Bengalis, Bengali Deobandi Islamic scholar best known as the inaugural Pir of Talgasia Darbar Sharif. He was a disciple of ...

, Islamic scholar and first Pir of Talgachhia *

Nachiketa Chakraborty Nachiketa Chakraborty, simply known as Nachiketa, is an Indian singer, songwriter, musician, composer and playback singer who is known for his modern Bengali lyrics. He achieved fame in the early 1990s, with the release of his debut album ''Ei Be ...

, famous Tollywood singer's family hails from Chechri Rampur village in

* Kabir Ahmed, former international footballer who played for the Pakistan national football team

Notes

References

Districts of Bangladesh {{Barisal-geo-stub