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Maulvi Bazar District (sylhet division) with an area of 2799.39 sq km, is bounded by sylhet district on the north, Tripura state of India on the south, Assam and Tripura states of India on the east, and habiganj district on the west. Main rivers are manu, Dhalai, Juri, Gopala, etc; noted depressions: Hakaluki, Hail and Kawadighi Haors. Annual temperature: maximum 33.2°C, minimum 13.6°C; annual rainfall 3334 mm. The total forest area is 413.65 sq km (about 15% of the total area of the district); noted forest ranges are Patharia, Sanrer Gaz or Longla, Rajkandi and Vanugachh.
Maulvi Bazar (Town) stands on the bank of the
River Manu. It consists of 9 wards and 47 mahallas. It has an area of
10.36 sq km; population 41358; male 54.97%, female 45.03%; density of
population is 3992 per sq km. Literacy rate among the town people is 56.7%.
Maulvi Bazar Municipality was established in 1930. The town has one Circuit
House and one Rest House; Pashchim Bazar and Chowmuhana are the main commercial
centres.
Administration Maulvi Bazar
subdivision was established in 1960 and was turned into a district in 1984. It consists of 6 upazilas, 4 municipalities, 36 wards and 123 mahallas, 66 union parishads, 876 mouzas, 2030 villages. The upazilas are
barlekha,
kamalganj,
kulaura, maulvi bazar
sadar, rajnagar and
sreemangal. Archaeological heritage Khoja Mosque of Laghati village in Dasher Bazar (Barlekha, 16th century), Madhab Mandir
located near the Madhabkunda water fall, Rangirkul Viddyashram (established in the first quarter of 19th century, Kulaura upazila), Nawab Bari of Pritthim Pasha (first quarter of 18th century), Khoja Mosque (14th century, Goiyghar), the temple of Agnian Thakur, Nirmmai Shib-Bari (1454, Gaiyebi Eter Masjid at the premises of the tomb of Kazi Khandker (R), Persian manuscripts of Firoz Shah Tuglak's period (1330 AD), statue of Ananta Naraiyan (11th century, preserved in the Calcutta Museum). Historical events A battle between the great Pathan warrior Khawasa Osman and Raja Subidha Narayan was fought in 1595 at Rajnagar. During the sepoy revolt, in 1857 some 300 sepoys looted the Chittagong Treasury and took shelter to Gaus Ali Khan,
zamindar of Pritthim Pasha. The physiography of the region was seriously changed due to the earthquake of 12 July 1897. In 1921 Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, Maulana Hossain Ahmed Madani and Sarojani Naidu attended the Khilafat Conference and inspired people to join the anti British movement. At that time, Purnendu Kishore Sengupta established the Viddia Aashram at Rangirkul of Kulaura. Beside these, the nankar movement in 1931-32 and Haor Karaiya Movement in 1968-69 are noted historical events of Maulvi Bazar. A movement, known as Vanubal Peasant Movement, lead by Panchanan Singh, Kasem Ali, Baikuntha Shawrma and Themba Singh was occurred in 1307 BS. During the war of liberation in 1971 many sanguinary battles took place at Shamshernagar, Sherpur and other places. Martyr
Birsrestha Sipoy
mohammad hamidur rahman was killed at village Aambasa (a border-side village of Kamalganj). Marks of War of Liberation Mass killing site 6, mass grave 9, memorial 6; North Bharaura (Sreemangal), Kulaura Hospital and Nabinchandra High School were used as torturing centres. Religious institutions Mosque 1935, temple 419, church and pagoda 57, sacred place 2, mazar 16. Population 1604028; male 50.11%, female 49.89%; Muslim 70.59%, Hindu 28.31%, Christian 0.92%, Buddhist 0.04%, others 0.14%. Ethnic nationals: Manipuri, Khasi, Tripura, Halam; of these group have their own languages. Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 30.8%; male 36.8%, female 24.6%. Educational institutions: college 21, secondary school 123, primary school 1078, madrasa 108, co operative institute 1, youth training centre 1, nursing institute 1, vocational training institute 1, Tea Research Institute 1, horticulture research institute 1, primary training institute 1, education project for the blinds (government) 1. Newspapers and periodicals Daily Maulvi Bazar, Daily Banglar Din, Daily Khola Chithi; weeklies: Patakunrir Desh, Manu Varta, Janaprattasha, Muktakatha, Manb Thikana, Hefazat-e-Islam, Maulvi Bazar Darpan, Al Insan, Sreemangaler Chithi, Sree Bani, Pubali Varta, Sree Vhumi, Joy Varta, Kulaurar Dak, Rajkantha; fortnightly: The Sylhet Today, Banhi Shikha; Monthly: Dur Diganta, Sree Gaurban;. extinct: Monthly Tabligul Islam and Monthly Tanjimul Muslemin (1924), Sreehatta Vraman-Paridarshan (1930), Weekly Avijan (1935), Monthly Christian Jagat (1935), Quarterly Brati (1936), Weekly Nakib (1937), Abahani (1939), Weekly Agradut (1960), Monthly Bonna (1970), Weekly Biplavi Bangla (1972), Weekly Muktabarta (1972), Weekly Fariad (1987). Cultural organisations Club 156, cinema hall 10, public library 9, community centre 10,
jatra party 4, social welfare organisation 207, shishu sadan (Children's home) 14, shishu academy 1, shilpakala academy 1. Main occupations Agriculture 31.21%, fishing 2.6%, industry 3.61%, transport 1.66%, agricultural labourer 15.01%, wage labourer 10.58%, commerce 9.12%, service 9.73% and others 16.48%. Many people of this district are working in UK, USA, Middle East and other countries of the world. Land use Arable land 175229 hectares; single cropping 32.92%, double crop 58.58% and triple crop 8.50%; tea gardens 291.26 sq km; land under irrigation 160.77 sq km. Land control Among the peasants 16.99% are landless, 20.63% marginal, 36.60% small, 20.10%
intermediate and 5.68% rich. Value of land The market value of land is around Tk 40000 per 0.01 hectare. Main crops Aush, aman and boro paddy, arum, til (sesame), tea, rubber, betel leaf, betel nut. Extinct and nearly extinct crops Local variety of rice, linseed,
kaun (Italian millet), arhar (a type of gram), yam, jute. Main fruits Pineapple, jackfruit, litchi, lemon, orange, shaddock
(Jambura / Batabi Lebu), satkara, kamranga. Fisheries, dairies, poultries Dairy 120, poultry 126, fishery 128, hatchery 13. Communication facilities Roads: pucca 832.28 km, mud road 3610.44 km; rail station 18, railway junction 1; airport 1 (Shamshernagar, now abandon); riverport 1 (Sherpur). Traditional transport Country boat,
palanquin (either). Manufactories Among the 153 tea gardens of the country 90 are situated in this district; these tea gardens produce about 64% of the national tea production. Cottage industries Agarbati and attar (essence of flowers) of Baralekha are exported to Middle East and Fareast countries; other most notable cottage industries Manipuri weaving, bamboo and cane work, shital pati etc; total number of small and cottage industries is about 5500. Mineral resources coal, glass sand and lignite have been found in Maulvi Bazar and Patharia. There is possibility of exploring petroleum and natural gas. Exploitation of natural gas is very much hampered due to the blowouts in Magurchhara Gas Field. Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 159, fair 10. Main exports tea, vegetables, satkara, lemon, naga chilli, glass sand. NGO activities CARE, brac, asa, caritas, Unnaiyan Sahaiyak Sangsta (USS), FIVDB, Sahaiyata, AUS, Janakollan Kendra, Meristops, PAUK, Nari Pragati, Agragami Mahila Samiti, Pratishruti. Health centres District sadar hospital 1, upazila health centre 6, satellite clinic 14, union and rural health centre 20, family welfare centre 37, maternity and child care centre 1, 50-bed hospital 1, TB clinic 1, eye hospital 1, missionary hospital 4, diabetic hospital 1, police hospital 1, under 5 Clinic 1, prison hospital 1, charitable dispensary 9. [Shah Abdul Wadud]
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