Rajarhat ( bn, রাজারহাট) is an

upazila An ''upazila'' ( bn, উপজেলা, upôzela, lit=sub-district pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative region in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a ...

Kurigram District Kurigram District ( bn, কুড়িগ্রাম) is a district of Bangladesh in the Rangpur Division. The district is located in northern Bangladesh along the country's border with India. Under Indian rule, the area was organized as a mahak ...

in the Division of Rangpur,

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, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

. Since 1981 it had been a ''Thana'' and later on September 14, 1983 was turned into an

by the government.

Geography

Rajarhat is located at , which is about 10 kilometers west to the center of Kurigram district. It is surrounded by Phulbari and

Lalmonirhat Lalmonirhat ( bn, লালমনিরহাট) is a town and district headquarters of Lalmonirhat District in the division of Rangpur, Bangladesh. References Populated places in Rangpur Division {{Rangpur-geo-stub ...

sadar upazilas on the north, Ulipur and Pirgachha upazilas on the south,

Kurigram Kurigram District ( bn, কুড়িগ্রাম) is a district of Bangladesh in the Rangpur Division. The district is located in northern Bangladesh along the country's border with India. Under Indian rule, the area was organized as a mahakum ...

sadar upazila on the east, Lalmonirhat Sadar and Kaunia upazilas on the west. It has 27,357 households and a total area of 166.23 km². Two rivers, Teesta and ''Dharla'' pass through this upazila.

Demographics

As of the

2011 Bangladesh census 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 reco ...

, Rajarhat has a population of 192,689 with a population density of 945 people per square kilometer. Males constitute 50.52% of the population, and females 49.48%. Upazila's adult (over 18) population is 72315. The average literacy rate of the people is 40.66% with 46.62% of male and 34.65% of female being literate.

Points of interest

Sindurmati Dighi Sindurmati Tirthadham is located on the border of Kurigram district and Lalmonirhat district in Sindurmati Mauza on 16.5 acres of land. Dighi is a sacred pilgrimage site for Hindus. During the renovation of this dighi in 1975 by government init ...

* Chandamari Mosque * Pangeshwari Temple * Gharialdanga Zamindar Bari * Panga Rajbari * Two cannons ascribed to Fate Khan and Kalu Khan (Panga Rajbari) * Koteshwar Shiva Mandir

Administration

Rajarhat Upazila is divided into seven

union parishad Union council ( bn, ইউনিয়ন পরিষদ, translit=iūniyan pariṣad, translit-std=IAST), also known as union parishad, rural council, rural union and simply union, is the smallest rural administrative and local government unit ...

s: Biddanondo, Chakirpashar, Chinai, Gharialdanga, Nazimkhan, Rajarhat, and Umarmajid. The union parishads are subdivided into 110 mauzas and 180 villages. Similar to other upazilas in the country, ''Upazila Parisad'' headed by an ''Upazila Chairman'' who is elected in a direct vote of the people is the highest form of local government in Rajarhat upazila.

Education

* Literacy Rate: 60% * Number of Colleges: 4 * Number of High Schools: 34 * Number of Madrasas: 45 * Number of Primary Schools (government run): 49 * Number of Primary Schools (private): 67

Notable residents

* Abdullah Sarwrdi (Ex MP) *

Raufun Basunia Raufun Basunia ( bn, রাউফুন বসুনীয়া ''Raufun Basunia'', died 13 February 1985), former Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League, and the General Secretary of its University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka ...

(Late leader of anti dictatorship movement) * Jahangir Hossain Chowdhury (First Upazilla Chairman Rajarhat) *

Badol Khondokar Badol Khondokar (born 27 May 1960) is a Bangladeshi film director and producer. Biography Khondokar was born on 27 May 1960. He directed films like ''Swapner Prithibi'', ''Prithibi Tomar Amar'', ''Sagorika'', ''Abar Ekti Juddho'', ''Prem Korechh ...

( film director and producer )

References

{{Upazilas of Rangpur Division Upazilas of Kurigram District