Patharghata Upazila
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Patharghata () is a coastal sub-district (
upazila 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 ...
) within the
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 ...
in Barisal Division, Bangladesh. It is one of six upazilas in the Barguna District, situated at the very south of the district. To the north of Patharghata Upazila, lies Bamna Upazila and Mathbaria Upazila of Pirojpur District, to the south is the Bay of Bengal, to the east are Barguna Sadar Upazila and the Bishkhali River, and to the west are Sharankhola Upazila of Bagerhat District and the Harinaghata River. The upazila has been recognized by the Government of Bangladesh as a char (riverine island), remote, and coastal area, and has been incorporated into the government's revenue sector. The upazila, developed after clearing parts of the Sundarbans, covers an area of 387.36 square kilometers. It is home to the Tengragiri Wildlife Sanctuary, the second largest breathable forest in Bangladesh after the Sundarbans. This area is predominantly agricultural. Nonetheless, its economy is indirectly dependent on marine fisheries. The upazila has facilities for fish landing and wholesale fish trading. According to the 2011 census, the total population of Patharghata Upazila is 163,927, comprising 80,544 males and 83,383 females, spread across 43,085 households. The literacy rate is 65%.


Geography

Patharghata is located at . It has a total area of 387.36 km2.


Background

During the British rule, for administrative convenience, the Patuakhali subdivision was created in 1871. At that time, this subdivision included the areas of
Patuakhali Patuakhali ( ''Potuakhali'') is a town and district headquarters of Patuakhali District located on the southern bank of Laukathi river in Barisal Division in Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarter of Patuakhali district and one of the ...
, Mirzaganj, Gulishakhali, Bauphal, and Galachipa, totaling 5 police stations. Bamna and Patharghata were under the jurisdiction of Mathbaria Thana. At that time, Barguna was within the Gulishakhali Thana. Later, towards the end of the century, for administrative convenience, the police stations of Bamna, Patharghata, Barguna, Betagi, and Khepupara were established. For the first time, Barguna appeared on the map through the naming of these police stations. In the fourteenth century, the entire southern region was under the jurisdiction of Bakerganj. In the mid-eighteenth century, Aga Bakar Khan was a notable figure in East Bengal. His zamindari was in Bakla Chandradwip. Patuakhali and Barisal were known as Bakla Chandradwip. For governance, the
British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
created Bakerganj District in 1797 following the 7th resolution, named after Aga Bakar Khan. To maintain peace and order and to counter pirate attacks, a temporary police outpost was constructed on the banks of the Bishkhali River in Fuljhuri in the early nineteenth century. Subsequently, as chars formed in the Bay of Bengal and cultivation began in the Sundarbans area, significant settlements developed. In the early twentieth century, some people from the areas of Mathbaria, Bamna, and Betagi came here, cleared Sundari tree gardens, and began to settle. Later, the British government registered the land in the area in 1910. In 1913, a minor flood washed away the settlements in these areas. Later, in 1926, the British government brought merchants from Dhaka and Faridpur to establish businesses in Patharghata market, including tailor and sweet shops. After the end of British rule in 1947, the governance of this area came under the Bakerganj subdivision of the Patuakhali Sub-Division. Even though some road development took place in the area after independence in 1971, it was not until 1985 when the Ershad government introduced the upazila system that the area's road connectivity began to improve. Before this, the only means of communication in the area was through waterways using Pansi boats. Once part of the
Sundarbans Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal ...
forest area, Barguna gradually transformed into a densely populated area. Political, social, and cultural activities began in this area. Due to administrative convenience, increased size, and population growth, Barguna became a sub-district town in the historical records with the creation of the Patuakhali District in 1969. In 1915, Patharghata was a police station of the Pirojpur subdivision. Among the 10 police stations listed in the Pirojpur subdivision at that time, one was Patharghata.
Kalapara Kalapara Upazila (, also known as Khepupara () is an upazila of Patuakhali District in the Division of Barisal Division, Barisal, Bangladesh. History The Rakhine people, Rakhine tribe of Bangladesh first settled in this upazila. A section of the p ...
, Amtali, Barguna, Betagi, and the Patharghata and Bamna police stations of the Pirojpur subdivision formed the Barguna subdivision. Later, due to the needs of the time, Barguna subdivision was upgraded to a district on February 28, 1984. Patharghata was upgraded to an upazila on March 24, 1983. The indigenous people had cleared large trees to establish settlements before this period. The roots of these trees can still be found underground, which the local people excavate for firewood.


Demographics

According to the
2011 Census of Bangladesh In 2011, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics conducted a national census in Bangladesh, which provided a provisional estimate of the total population of the country as 142,319,000. The previous decennial census was the 2001 census. Data were r ...
, Patharghata Upazila had a population of 163,927 living in 43,085 households. 35,397 (21.59%) were under 10 years of age. Patharghata has a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 60.5%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 1038 females per 1000 males. 28,521 (17.40%) lived in urban areas. As of the
1991 Bangladesh census In 1991, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, conducted a national census in Bangladesh. They recorded data from all of the districts and upazilas and main cities in Bangladesh including statistical data on population size, households, sex and a ...
, Patharghata has a population of 134635. Males constitute 50.56% of the population, and females 49.44%. This Upazila's eighteen up population is 68,751. Patharghata has an average literacy rate of 66.4% (7+ years), and the national average of 32.4% literate.


Administration

UNO: Md. Ruknuzzaman Khan. Patharghata Upazila is divided into Patharghata Municipality and seven union parishads: Char Duani, Kakchira, Kalmegha, Kathaltali, Nachnapara, Patharghata, and Raihanpur. The union parishads are subdivided into 42 mauzas and 66 villages. Patharghata Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 9
mahalla is an Arabic word variously translated as district, Quarter (country subdivision), quarter, Ward (country subdivision), ward, or neighborhood in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. ...
s.


See also

*
Upazilas of Bangladesh An ''upazila'' ( pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative division in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a districts of Bangladesh, district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a borough of Western count ...
*
Districts of Bangladesh The divisions of Bangladesh, divisions of Bangladesh are further divided into districts or (). The headquarters of a district is called the district seat (). There are 64 districts in Bangladesh. The districts are further subdivided into 495 s ...
*
Divisions of Bangladesh Divisions are the first-level administrative divisions in Bangladesh. As of 2024, there are eight divisions of Bangladesh, each named after the major city within its jurisdiction that also serves as the administrative seat of that division. Eac ...
*
Thanas of Bangladesh A thana () serves as a fundamental administrative unit in Bangladesh, functioning as a city district governed by a police station (analogous to a police district or a police precinct). In rural areas, the thana system, originating in the 18th ...
*
Administrative geography of Bangladesh Bangladesh is divided into 8 divisions (''bibhag'') and 64 districts (''jela'', ''zila'', ''zela''), although, these have only a limited role in public policy. For the purposes of local governance, the country is divided into '' upazilas'' (su ...
*
Union councils of Bangladesh Union council (), also known as union parishad, rural council, rural union and simply union, is the smallest rural administrative and local government unit in Bangladesh, with zila parishads (district councils) being the largest rural authorit ...


References

{{Upazilas of Barisal Division Upazilas of Barguna District