Naogaon Zila

Mohammad Ehsanul Karim

Institute of Statistical Research and Training

University of Dhaka, Dhaka - 1000, Bangladesh

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Naogaon zila was one of the sub-divisions of former Rajshahi district of Bangladesh. It was upgraded to zila on the 1^st March, 1984.

Nomenclature: It is believed that the present zila headquarters initially developed in a mauza comprising of nine (meaning “Nao” in Bengali) villages (meaning “Gaon” in Bengali). The zila might have derived its name as Naogaon from the words “Nao” and “Gaon”.

Location: It is bounded on the north by India, on the east by Bogra and Joypurhat zilas, on the south by Rajshahi and Natore zilas ans on the west by Nawabganj zila and India. Naogaon zila is situated between and north latitudes and between and east longitudes.

History: This district people are well known for their roles in the war of liberation. Shahid Major Nazmul Haque was appointed as Wing Commander of No. 7 East Pakistan Rifles (E.P.R) wing at Naogaon Mahukuma at the beginning of March 1971. He declared Noagaon as of a part of Independent Bangla and organized a battalion comprising with soldiers of E.P.R and volunteers. As the commander of that battalion, he took position at the military camp at Bogura city after defeating Pakistan soldiers.

Area: It has an area of 3,435.67 square kilometers (1,326.52 square miles) of which 9.09 sq. kms. (3.5 sq. miles) is riverine and 19.45 sq. kms. (7.51 sq. miles) is forest area. It is about 2.33% of total area of the country. In respect of area, it ranks 2^nd among 16 zilas of Rajshahi Division and 12^th in Bangladesh.

Upazilas: Out of the 11 upazilas in the zila, Miamatpur is the largest with an area of 449.10 sq. kms. (173.4 sq. miles) which is about 13.07% of the total area of the zila. Badalgachi is the smallest with an area of 213.98 sq. kms. (82.62 sq. miles) which is about 6.23% of total area of the zila.

Administrative Units: The zila headquarter is located in Naogaon town under Sadar Upazila. There are 11 upazilas, 99 unions and 2,541 mauzas in the zila. The name of the Thanas / upazilas are Nagoan, potnitola, Atrai, RaniNagor, Mohadebpur, Porsha, Damurhat, Manda, Nyamatpur, Shapahar and Badalgachi.

Soil condition: Since significant portion of the Naogaon Zila lies within the Barind Tract, the relief of this area is elevated and moderately undulating. Barind Tract is the important physiographic feature of the zila. It is mainly level Barind Tract, containing grey terrace soils with an impervious ploughpan and a slowly permeable substratum. It is deficient in silicious matter as it gets no deposits of sand from flood water. A stiff of reddish clayey loam distinguishes it from the remaining portions of the zila, which lie within the flood plains of the Little Jamuna, Atrai and Purnabhaba rivers where soils are mainly silty in redges and clays in basin centres in some areas and heavy clay in some other areas. The Atrai river valleys are the young Atrai meander floodplain. The grey and brown silty clay loam mixed in the Barind Tract covers a large area of the zila. The red soils on the Barind Tract (Uplands) contains light loam of alluvial plain which is used mainly by winter aman rice. There are perennial marshes in the zila. The most notable of these beels is the Manda beel. It continues in a chain of beels to the south and east. There is also an enormous strech of perennial swamp all around Dublahati village.

Climate: Naogaon zila is generally marked with a typical tropical monsoon climate with high temperature, considerable humidity and moderate rainfall. The hot season commences early in March and continues till the middle of June. The maximum mean temperature of about is observed during the months of April, May and June. The minimum mean temperature of about is recorded in January. The highest rainfall in the zila is observed during the months of monsoon. It carries 80% of total annual rainfall. The annual rainfall in the zila was 1,269 mm. in 1996.

River System: The main rivers and rivulets flowing through the zila are Atrai, the little Jamuna, the Purnabhaba, the Nagar, the Gur, the Ghakshir, the Khagra, the Shib, and the Hoja. They become active channels during the rainy season and navigable by boats only. The few stream channels are several miles apart and have tightly meandering courses. Most of this area is shallowly flooded by rain water in the monsoon season, but occasional flash floods in the Atrai and the little Jamuna rivers spread river water over adjoining Barind areas. As the rivers are flowing over the area of northern part of the country they are non-tidal. The principal rivers cover an area of 9.09 sq. kms. (3.51 sq. miles) which is only 0.26% of the total area of the zila. The length of the rivers within the boundary of the zila is about 391 kms. (243 miles).

Holdinds: Holdings with cultivated area less than 0.05 acres are considered as non-farm holding and all farm holdings are classified into small (with operated area 0.05 to 2.49 acre), medium (with operated area 2.50 to 7.49 acre) and large (with operated area 7.50 acre and above) holdings. There are 441,506 holdings (2.48% of country total) in Naogaon zila (1996 Census) with 294,537 farm holdings (66.71%) and 146,969 non-farm holdings (33.29%). Of these holdings, 432,596 are headed by male and 8,910 are headed by female. In 1996, we found 211, 735 small, 69,486 medium, 13,316 large farm holdings.

Tenureship: There are 601,476 owned area (2.96% of the country total and 92.3% of Naogaon operated area) with 586,175 farm holdings according to 1996 Census. There are 262,801 owned holdings (with 154,662 farm-holding), 129,865 owned-cum-tenant holdings (with 127,689 farm-holding), 48,840 tenant holdings (with 12,186 farm-holding) according to 1996 Census.

Households: According to population census 1991, the total number of households of Naogaon zila was 401,000 which was 2.07% of the total households in the country. Estimated number of households of the zila in 1996 was 456,000.

Population: Estimated population in 1996 was 2,441,000 (2.44 million) which was 2% of the total population of the country. The percentage of male and female population were 50.82% and 49.18% respectively. Among the eleven upazila, Porsha had the lowest population of 111,000 (4.55% of the zila) while Manda had highest population of 376,000 (15.4% of the zila).

Density: The density of population was 710 per sq. km. compared to 827 per sq. km. of the country.

Literacy Rate: Literacy Rates of Population of 7 Years and Above age (Unadjusted) In Census, 1991 in Naogaon was 28.4, with Male: 35.9, Female: 20.4[2]. After adjusting, literacy Rate of Population for All Ages by Sex,1991 in Naogaon was 21.62, with Male: 27.46, Female: 15.53[3]. The rate of literacy for population 7 years and above was 45.7% as against 44.8% for the nation in 1996. Total number of educational institute is 559. For comparison with 1991 and 1981, we see -

Source: BBS : Annual volume : page 68 - 72 from http://www.bbsgov.org/ana_vol2/Table%20u05.htm

The economy of Naogaon is mainly agro-based, although non-farm economic activities are contributing some share in the development oriented program of the zila.

Crops: Out of total 4,41,506 holdings of the zila, 66.71% holdings are farms that produce varieties of crops namely local and HYV paddy, wheat, pulses, mustard, potato, different kinds of vegetables, jute, sugarcane, spices and other minor crops. It is a district well known for jute trade. The major agricultural comprise Aus (HYV Aus was produced in 64,212 holdings in 1996 and 16,130 in 1983-84), Aman (HYV Aman was produced in 279,811 holdings in 1996 and 28,410 in 1983-84), Boro (HYV Boro was produced in 246,582 holdings in 1996 and 87,526 in 1983-84), Jute, Wheat. Among the crops paddy, wheat, different kinds of vegetables, mustard, spices and jute occupied 85.18%, 4.84%, 3.28%, 2.23%, 1.44% and 1.34% respectively of the total gross cropped area of the zila. Among rice crops, Aman covers by far the largest area followed by Boro and Aus[4]. In 1996, 91,152 farm holdings were under Aus, 402,326 farm holdings were under Aman, 267,972 farm holdings were under Boro, 43,232 farm holdings were under Wheat, 458 farm holdings were under minor cereals such as oat, barley, cheena, maize, kaun, bajra, joar, etc. Rabicrops include Mustard, Khesari, Masur, Mash, Potato, Sesame, Gram, Spices, Barley, Maize, Tobacco, Sugarcane etc. Spices were produced in 12,875 holdings in 1996, Pulses were produced in 5,105 holdings in 1996, Oil seeds were produced in 21,608 holdings in 1996 and 20,672 in 1983-84 and Cash crops such as jute, mesta, shon, cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, etc. were produced in 19,907 holdings in 1996 and 29,272 in 1983-84. Comparing, we find that HYV Aus, Aman, Boro, oil seed production increased while cash crop production decreased in respective years.

In addition, homestead thickets, shrubberies and backyards with planted trees often give support to many climbers and twiners. Shim (Lablab purpureus) is the most commonly grown although winged bean is also occasionally planted. Pui (Basella rubra) are planted for its leafy greens. Moreover, some other plants are grown at the homesteads mainly for aesthetic purposes. Vegetables such as patal, lobry, sasha, jhinga, karala, humra, lau, kachu, shaks, tarmuj, bangi, potato, kopys, begun, mula, carrot, beans, tomato, chichinga, turnip, etc. were total produced in 29,327 holdings in 1996.

Various fruits like mango (Mangifera Indica), banana, jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), tal (palm – Barassus flabillifer), coconut (Cocoo nasifera), betelnut, kalojam (Syzygium cumini), piyara (Psidium guajava), jambura (Citrus grandis), kamranga, jalpai, supari (Areca catechu) etc are grown. Tal palms are abundant in the Barind portion of the zila. Bamboo and Mango are plentiful around homesteads. The fields are often bordered with Banana. There are also many road side trees. Anyone walking around Khagarkuri village of Naogaon district, will certainly be wonder-struck on seeing the green belt on both sides of the road stretching across the village. It is the poor village - women who, facilitated by Proshika into Shapla and Sonali Samitis (groups), had done this to the surprise of passers-by.

Besides, the cultivation of hemp plant (Cannabas sativa) is a specialty of the Naogaon zila. The plant yields 3 narcotic products called Ganja, Charas, and Bhang.

Agricultural inputs: 230,366 reported holdings, 64.46% of cultivated area irrigated – on an average having 2.18 acre irrigated per holding and 271,968 reported holdings, 89.32% of cultivated area used fertilizer according to 1996 census, net fertilized area being 523,473. Naogaon had 7,351 deep-tube wells were in 7,179 reported holdings, 35,809 low-lift pump in 33.042 reported holdings, 6,429 power pumps in 6,144 reported holdings – total 81,236 holding reporting use of modern implements, 67,595 non-mechanized irrigation tools in 53,520 reported holdings, 3,309 power tillers in 3,236 reported holdings, 2,237 tractors in 1,995 reported holdings. 5 holdings produced fodder.

Fish resource: Ponds, creeks, beels, and rivers of the zila are natural habitat for fish population. The principal types of fishes are rui (Labco rohita), catla (Catla catla), kalbaush (Labes calbaus), mrigel (Cirrhina mrigala), koi (Anabas testudineus), shing (Heteropneustes fossilis), magur (Clarius batrachus), air (Mystas aor), boal (Wallago atu), pangas (Pangas pangasius), saul (Ophicephalus striaxtus), bele (Eleotris ambinensis), chital (Natopterous), pabda, tengra (Mystus vittatus), phati (Notopterus notopterus), etc. In addition, some exotic varieties of fish such as tilapia, nilotica, silver carp, grass carp etc. are being cultivated in the zila. The Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI), an autonomous organisation under the MOFL, was established in 1984 and has six stations, one located at Santahar (Naogaon).

Livestock and Birds: Livestock and poultry are the subsidiary sources of household income here. Cattle (total 601,626 in 1983-84, and 578,051 in 1996 – 207,811 holding reported), Buffalo (total 30,671 in 1996 – 14,900 holding reported), Sheep (total 97,655 in 1996 – 30,882 holding reported), Goat (total 527,629 in 1983-84, and 378,345 in 1996 – 141,814 holding reported) are the main livestock in Naogaon – on an average having 3 cattle, 2 buffalo, 3 goat, 3 sheep, 8 fowl, 4 duck per household. Also, there are some mammalian fauna frequently seen in the countryside of the Naogaon zila which are not economically significant (however, a variety of rats, monkeys and bats are found here which have negative effects on different crops). Once many different species of birds used to be seen in the countryside, but now their numbers are being reduced significantly because of the reduction of bio-diversity through damage to the environment. Fowls (total 1,800,115 in 1983-84, and 2,503,444 in 1996 – 309,383 holding reported) and Ducks (total 826,930 in 1996 – 194,576 holding reported) are the main poultry in Naogaon. However, a large number of migratory birds visit during winter season. They are usually seen in wet land areas and some are seen in the swamps and beels of Naogaon zila.

Agricultural Labor Households: There are 137,671 agricultural labor households (31.18% of the holdings) with 62,702 farm holdings (45.55%) and 74,968 non-farm holdings (54.45%) according to 1996 Census. Total 777,412 persons were engaged in agricultural work. 239,166 male and 114,515 female were self-employed along with 138,735 male and 94,065 female un-paid farm helpers or family helpers.

Operated Area: In 1996 census, Naogaon had 294,537 total farm holding. There are 651,851 operated area (3.18% of the country) with 568,175 or 98.66% in the farm holdings (31.69% for small, 44.4% for medium, 23.92% for large farm holdings) according to 1996 Census. Compared to agricultural census 1983-84, there were 671,136 operated area (2.92% of the country) with 664,418 or 99% in the farm holdings. Therefore, we see, although operated area increased, non-farm holding is increasing only while decreasing farm holdings.

572,742 net temporary cropped area (97.7% of net cultivated area), 568,163 net cultivated area (3.3% of the country total) and 893,977 gross cropped area (3.12% of the country total) and intensity of cropping is 156.1 (170.6 for small, 153.7 for medium, 141.9 for large farm holdings). In 1983-84, intensity of cropping was 139.5 (155.3 for small, 139.2 for medium, 129.2 for large farm holdings). Therefore, intensity of cropping increased in all respect. People are now more concerned about utilizing lands. Total homestead area is 25,960, 1.96% of the country total in 1996, decreased from 2.17% according to 1983-84.

Non-agricultural Activities: Non-agricultural activities are still at an early stage. Broad types of non-farm activities that are developing in Naogaon zila are: manufacturing (10,810 units), wholesale and retail trade, restaurant and hotels (14,354 units), finance, Insurance, real estate, business services (619 units), community, social, and personal services (11,304 units) engaging 101,696 persons (87.29% male and 12.71% female)[5].

In 1996 census, there were 3,009 holdings for handloom, 633 holdings for blacksmith, 697 holdings for pottery, 904 holdings for bamboo-cane work, 551 holdings for wood work, 138 holdings for brass work, 368 holdings for jute-cotton work, 2,426 holdings for other industries – total being 8,726 holdings for cottage industry with 8,563 male and 163 female headed reported cottage industry.

Arsenic: Some 80 million people of Bangladesh are now at risk of Arsenic contamination. This was revealed from the latest survey jointly conducted by DCH and SOES. After analyzing the data, experts opined that groundwater Arsenic contamination and sufferings of peoples in Bangladesh may be the biggest Arsenic calamity in the world. However, after testing the water of tube-wells of several districts, the survey did not found alarming level of Arsenic. Arsenic was found less than 0.01 mg/l in these samples. These districts can be considered as completely safe from Arsenic pollution. One of these 8 districts is Naogaon. The Public Health Engineering Department of the Government of Bangladesh examined of tube well water samples in some southern districts and concluded that Naogaon is one of the "Contamination Free Districts". On the contrary, examinimg various areas, BAMWSP targeted some areas of bangladesh as Arsenic Prone Upazilas where Porsha of Naogaon had 28th place as in Phase 1 and 2, and Manda of Naogaon had 95th place as in Phase 3. According to some experts, the percentage of arsenic-affected tubewells is between 20 and 40 in Naogaon district. Proshika located Naogaon as one of the least affected district (2%). "Even in areas of low arsenic concentrations, there are some 'hot spots' where a cluster of wells with unusually high concentrations of arsenic exist. Such 'hot spots' are dispersed but most noticeable in northern Bangladesh. We investigated one such 'hot spot' in Chapai Nawabganj and estimated that it was about five kilometers by four kilometers in extent'', the study said.

Flood: Further to heavy rainfall in West Bangal and water flow from the upper catchment areas of India, flood waters enters Bangladesh in last quartrs of about each year. Flood waters spread to deeper in Bangladesh over Naogaon. The affected population can be divided into two categories; those remaining in flooded areas and those who have sought refuge in shelters established by the local community, private individuals, the local administration and NGOs. A few deaths have been reported each year. Millions of people are believed to have been affected by the floods in affected districts. Very few boats were available locally for relief and rescue operations, since major rivers in the area are rare. This shortage of vessels has in part been offset by the use of army and navy boats, and by the arrival of boats from neighbouring districts, but these still fall short of requirements. As floodwaters begin to recede the use of boats will be restricted and possibilities for transport will be further curtailed. It is therefore essential that relief supplies be delivered to affected areas before communications become more difficult. Large numbers of tube wells have been inundated and may need to be resunk, and there has been widespread arsenic contamination. 80 to 90% of houses in the area are built of mud, which is unlikely to have withstood the onslaught of the floods. Most of these houses will have to be reconstructed. Rice due to be harvested in November has been seriously affected by the floods. Other crops severely affected and destroyed. Tons of husked rice and vegetable crops have been lost. Poultry and goats were washed away by the sudden floods. Larger animals usually survived the floods, but families are selling their livestock for much-needed cash as fodder is scarce in the shelters, and animal theft rife. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MDMR) has so far has been allocating cash and rice to this affected district Naogaon[6].

Mis-interpretation of Islam: Obscurantism has no place in Islam which is universally known as a progressive and dynamic religion. But some unenlightened persons often misinterpreted the provisions of the holy scriptures to suit their selfish purpose or their extremely constricted religious views. But even in 2001, the wise and enlightened court verdict came in a suo moto case concerning an incident in a village in Naogaon in which Shahida Begum was forcibly given in ‘hilla’ (interim) marriage with her husband’s relative following a ‘fatwa’ (religious decree) by a self-appointed religious leader, Azizul Huq. The plea was that Shahida’s marriage with her husband had stood dissolved because during a quarrel the husband had pronounced the word ‘talaq’ (divorce). The court held that Shahida’s marriage had not been dissolved according to the provisions of the Muslim Family Law Ordinance, 1961, and that even if for argument’s sake it is conceded that the marriage was dissolved, there is no legal bar to the couple re-marrying, without any interim marriage with a third person.

Forgery: In the name of microfinance the NGOs are setting up a parallel banking system. The high rates of interest they charge would not qualify them as cooperative enterprises ... many NGOs in the area Naogaon are fake and are defrauding the people[7].

Communal repression: One of the incidents of communal repression in Bangladesh occurred in Naogaon : On November 10, 1989, several temples in the city of Naogaon were attacked and structurally damaged. Fear and panic spread in the Hindu villages near the city of Naogaon and many villagers went into hiding for fear of life and prosecution - on the Pretext of Babri-Masjid / Ram-Mandir Situation in India. Later, in January 3, 2001, a Hindu housewife Putul Rani Das (22 yrs) was gang-raped at her house by an armed gang. The fanatics afterwards killed her and left her corpse. In January 25, 2001, Islamic fanatics attacked the houses of Ratan Mohanta and Dilip Barman. They looted property worth over Taka 100,000 ($1,900 U.S.).

Minority Situation: In a well publicized incident in 2000 in Naogaon district, the heartland of Ashrai's work, local leaders forged documents and harassed a group of 19 Santal families for nearly two years in order to scare them from their land. When the families refused to move, the leaders hired thugs one night who burned down the Santal homes and ambushed people as they escaped the inferno. The story of the minorities in this area is a sad one. Alfred Soren, the leader of the Santhals, who was burnt to death in Naogaon. As one was killed; many more were critically injured; the police took four and half hours to arrive on the scene (Daily Star, August 21, 2000). The Oraons, who have adopted many Hindu ways, face the added burden of government legislation that strips Hindus of legal rights in the event of land-loss! This Santhal slaughtering happened at Vimpur village of Mohadevpur upazilla under Naogaon district. Ethnic minority has a high place in our Constitution, philosophy and national ethos. What happened at Vimpur is a big shame to our civilised sensibilities.

Mohammad Ehsanul Karim

Institute of Statistical Research and Training

University of Dhaka, Dhaka - 1000, Bangladesh

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for more Statistical pages( Selection of the Best Regression Equation, MEASURING INEQUALITY IN NAOGAON, Non-Linear Models, Anthropology, Fitting Orthogonal Polynomial, Simple Linear Regression with assumptions using SPSS, SAS, MATLAB, Minitab, S-plus, R, STATA, Bias - Direction and Classification in Epidemiologic Studies, Correlogram, Methods of collecting the information, Nominal Associations, Programs Written in ForTran, Intelligence: Theories and Tests, Basics of Demography in context of Bangladesh, survey Data analysis using SUDAAN, WesVar, Epi Info, CENVAR, Statistical software packages in Statistical Data Analysis)

[1] Source: Election Commission - 20-10-98 dated.

[2] Source: SDNP Bangladesh.

[3] Source: Population Census, 1991, BBS.

[4] Agricultural Census 1996.

[5] From the data of 1986 Census. Current data is not available yet.

[6] The information was gathered by personnel from WFP, UNDP and UNICEF.

[7] Microfinance NGOs in Bangladesh Growth, impact and challenges by Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder Executive Director, BRAC

1. Area
Land use	Area (in Acre)
Total Land Area Cultivable Area Fallow Land Area Under Forest Area Irrigated Area Under River	860024 608525 18495 5497 399903 9247
2. Storage Facility
Commodity	No. of godown	Capacity (M. Ton)
Food Seed Fertilizer	37 3 9	36650 1050 6500
3. Utilities
Name of Items	Total No.	Length (in Km.)
Rivers Metal Road Semi Metal Road Kutcha Road Rail Road Hat Bazaar F/C Center	20 33 26 654 2 230 -	359 288 145 4509 - - -
4. Irrigation Facilities
Name of Items	Total No.	Irrigated Area (acre)
Tubewell Power Pump Low Lift Pump Shallow Tubewell Deep Tubewell Traditional Total	1218 656 1095 22064 1968 5792 26154	3656 38286 19373 174288 105339 58959 399903
5. Social Information
Name of Items	Total Numbers
Clubs Community Center Co-operative Society Professional Society Post Office Bank Branches NGOs Mosques Mandirs Churches Pagodas Marriage Register Tea Estate Livestock Firms Poultry Firms Hatchery Handloom Bamboo & Cane Carpentry Jute/Cotton Fiber Black Smith Potter Gold Smith Others Uprooted Persons Telephones Household with Gas	303 18 3200 85 132 102 54 4186 310 42 - 44 - 49 150 12 1063 1232 1445 286 418 1412 284 2279 941 883 -
6. Educational Institution	Total No	No. of Teachers	No. of Students
Kindergarten Primary School Junior High School Secondary High School College University Teachers training Physical Training Homeo Medical College Unani Institute Polytechnic Inst Vocational Institute Blind/Disable School Mass Education Center Ibtedaye Madrasa Dakhil Madrasa Alia Madrasa Fazil Madrasa Kamil Madrasa Forquania Madrasa Hafizia Madrasa Qaumi Madrasa Tol College Pali College Girls School/College	18 975 57 241 18 - 1 - - - - 2 - 162 269 89 14 25 2 413 53 26 4 - 14	141 3810 289 2343 366 - 18 - - - - 14 - 192 1118 1058 208 443 39 632 135 100 65 - 174	2513 257374 4640 78907 10476 - 173 - - - - 128 - 3910 32653 14585 2421 5481 983 23766 2215 2361 1636 - 6353
7. Health
Name of Items	Doctors	Nurse/HA	No. of Beds
Hospitals Clinics FWC Maternity Centre Primary Healthcare	108 58 40 3 -	157 40 8 8 -	360 65 - 17 -
8. Agricultural Product
Name of Items\|	Area (Acre)	Production (M.Ton)
Rice Wheat Jute Sugar Cane Tobacco Tea Fish Catch Eggs Milk Sweet Meat Pulse Vegetable Onion Carlic Turmaric Sugar Salt	801434 43196 10064 9795 34 - - - - - 5858 1709 386 570 - - -	6943 7751 6114 1660 265 - 108853 54883 108101 1668 16339 188 965 2843 - - -
9. Development Projects
Name of Items	Total Number
Poverty Allivation Rehabilit of Des Family Planning Education Agriculture & Food Road & Communication Health Total	141 44 6 168 86 255 20 650

Source : Source : http://www.bbsgov.org/zilapfil/naogaon.htm