Pirojpur

Pirojpur is a district in Bangladesh. It is a part of the Barisal Division."

Pirojpur District (barisal division) with an area of 1307.61 km², is bounded by gopalganj and barisal districts on the north, barguna district on the south, jhalokati district on the east, bagerhat district on the west. Annual average temperature: maximum 35.5°C, minimum 12.5°C; annual rainfall 1710 mm. Main rivers are Baleshwar, Katcha, Kaliganga and Sandhya.

Pirojpur (Town) stands on the bank of the Damodor and consists of 9 wards and 30 mahallahs. The area of the town is 15.12 km². It has a population of 51219; male 51.66%, female 48.34%. Density of population is 3387 per km². Literacy rate among the town people is 66.1%. Pirojpur Municipality was established in 1886. The main business centre of the town is Rajarhat. The town has one dakbungalow.

Administration Pirojpur district was established in 1984. It consists of three municipalities, 6 upazilas, 51 union parshads, 399 mouzas and 645 villages, 27 wards and 54 mahallas. The upazilas are bhandaria, kawkhali, mathbaria, nazirpur, pirojpur sadar and nesarabad.

Archaeological heritage and relics Kumarkhali Kali Mandir, Rayerkati Zamindarbari and Shiva Mandir, two domed mosque (Nesarabad), remnants of Kaurikhara Zamindarbari.

Historical events Pirojpur is said to have been named after Zamindar Firoj Shah. Peasant rebellion was held in 1757 at Sankhali of Bhandaria upazila.

Marks of the War of Liberation Mass killing site 2, mass grave 1, memorial 1.

Population 1126525; male 50.02%, female 49.98%; Muslim 79.01%, Hindu 20.91% and others 0.08%.

Religious institutions Mosque 2556, temple 594, church 1, sacred place 4, tomb 2.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 55.8%; male 63.5% and female 48.1%. Educational institutions: government college 4, non-government college 18, government high school 5, non-government high school 185, junior school 12, government primary school 485, non-government primary school 282, madrasa 188, Kindergarten school 4, PTI 1, satellite school 7.

Cultural organisations Club 156, public library 7, cinema hall 10, theatre group 4, women's organisation 8, theatre stage 1, jatra party 1, literary society 1, shilpakala academy 1, playground 69.

Main occupations Agriculture 35.3%, agricultural labourer 17.05%, wage labourer 5.71%, commerce 16.2%, service 7.25%, fishing 2.68%, transport 1.64%, construction 1.28% and others 12.89%.

Land use Total cultivable land 87051.8 hectares, fallow land 520.53 hectares; single crop 36%, double crop 57% and treble crop land 7%.

Land control Among the peasants 27.22% are landless, 30.65% marginal, 23.32% small, 18.26% intermediate and 0.55% rich.

Value of land Market value of land of the first grade is approximately Tk 7500 per 0.01 hectare.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, sugarcane, betel leaf.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, guava, coconut, banana, amra.

Fisheries, poultries and dairies Poultry 185, dairy 254, fishery 2285, nursery 14.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 160.6 km, semi pucca 105 km and mud road 2051 km; waterways 98 nautical mile.

Traditional transport Palanquin (extinct) and boat.

Manufactories Textile mill, flour mill, rice mill, ice factory, saw mill, bakery, oil mill, etc.

Cottage industries Weaving, bamboo work, goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, tailoring, wood work, welding, bidi.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 146, fairs 15.

Main exports Betel leaf, coconut, guava, banana, amra, betel nut.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, CARE, asa, grameen bank, proshika, caritas, ccdb, PDF, Dak Deye Jai.

Health centres Hospital 2, upazila health complex 6, union health and family planning centre 42, maternity and child welfare centre 1, satellite clinic 12, palli health services clinic 53. [Ranjan Baksi Nupu]