|
Biral Upazila (dinajpur district) with an area of 352.15 sq km, is bounded by bochaganj and kaharole
upazilas on the north, Indian borders on the south, south-west and north-west, dinajpur sadar
upazila and punarbhaba river on the east. Main rivers are Punarbhaba and tangon; Karai and Nal Beels are notable.
Biral (Town) consists of 4 mouzas with an area
of 11.11 sq km. The town has a population of 9467; male 51.75%, female
48.25%. The density of population is 852 per sq km. The literacy rate
among the town people is 37.3%. The town has one railway station, one
dakbungalow.
Administration Biral
thana was established in 1915 and was turned into an upazila in 1984. It consists of 10 union parishads, 241 mouzas and 235 villages. Historical events During the war of liberation a direct
encounter was held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army in which many Pakistani soldiers were killed and the Pakistani army was forced to quit the area. The freedom fighters blasted out the railway bridge over the river Kanchan to disrupt the military traffic during the war. Marks of War of Liberation War of Liberation Museum 1, Mass grave 1.
Populations 231476; male 51.55%, female 48.45%; Muslim 72.23%, Hindu 26.04%, Buddhist 0.48%, Christian 0.01% and others 1.23%.
Main occupations Agriculture 48.21%, agricultural labourer 28.79%, wage labourer 1.92%, commerce 9.26%, transport 1.54%, construction 1.13%, service 3.43%, others
5.72%. Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 27.29%; male 35.6%, female 19.1%. Educational institutions: college 6, high school 34, non-government primary school 84, government primary school 71, madrasa 43, orphanage 2, satellite school 3, vocational (textiles) institute 1. Noted Institutions: Biral Government Primary School, Silver Jubilee
MC School, Kanaibari High School and Mohana Mangalpur High School. Cultural organisations Club 17, public library 1 and cinema hall 1. Religious institutions Mosque 421, temple 80, tomb 4.
Land use Cultivable land 31061 hectares; fallow 122.42 hectares; single crop 20.43%, double crop 65.50% and treble crop 14.07%. Land under irrigation 52.28%.
Land control Among the peasants 46.62% are landless, 23.51% small peasants, 21.91% medium peasants, 7.96%
rich; per capita cultivable land 0.31 hectare.
Value of land The market value of land of first grade is about Tk.5000 per sq km. Main crops Paddy, wheat, corn, sugarcane, potato, onion, garlic, pulses, chilli, sesame, oilseed. Extinct and nearly extinct crops Aush paddy, tobacco and pulses.
Main fruits Mango, banana, jackfruit, litchi
and blackberry.
Communication facilities Roads: pucca 87 km, semi pucca 6 km, mud road 325 km and railways 34 km. Traditional transport
Palanquin (extinct), bullock cart and horse carriage (nearly extinct), boat. Manufacture and Cottage Industries Automatic rice mill 3, husking machine 110, ice factory 2, biscuit factory 3, saw mill 7, flour mill 1 and 4 lathe machines. Cottage industries Goldsmith 10, blacksmith 15, potteries 150, woodwork 80 and chalk making 20. Hats, bazars and fairs Total number of hats and bazars are 67; fairs 3. Main exports Litchi, corn, rice and onion. NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, caritas, grameen bank, proshika, Deep Shikha, Samaj Pragati Parishad, Bivash, CDA and Shiksha Foundation. Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health and family planning centre 10, community health centre 13 and Islamic Mission Hospital 1. [Md. Mizanur
Rahman]
|
