Sitakunda Upazila
Template:Infobox of upazilas Sitakunda (Template:Lang-bn) is an Upazila of Chittagong District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is most noted for its numerous religious shrines, of Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist denominations.
Geography and geology
Sitakunda Upazila has an area of 483.97 km².[1], bounded by Mirsharai on the north, Pahartali on the south, Fatickchhari, Hathazari and Panchlaish on the south, and the Sandwip Channel in the Bay of Bengal on the west.[2]
The geological structure of Sitakunda, 70km long and 10km wide, is one of the westernmost structures of Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts, delimited by the Feni River in the north, the Karnaphuli River in the south, the Halda River in the east and the Sandwip Channel in the west. The Sitakunda Hill Range acts as a water divider between the Halda Valley and the Sandwip Channel. The structure contains a thick sedimentary sequence of sandstone, shale and siltstone. The exposed sedimentary rock sequences, 6,500m thick in an average, of the structure, except limestone, provide no difference in overall lithology from that of Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts.[3]
Demographics and administration
As of 1991 Bangladesh censusTemplate:GR, Sitakunda has a population of 274,903 distributed to 48,065 units of households[4]. This Upazila's adult (18+) population is 143,147.[1]
Sitakunda has 10 Unions divided into 71 Mauzas, and 107 villages.[1] Sitakunda Town, the administrative center has 9 wards divided into 21 mahallas, and a population of 34,530.[2] The town is the sole municipality of the upazila. The rest of the area is organized into 11 union parishads.[2]
History
There has been signs of human habitation in Sitakunda from pre-hisoric times. Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyaya mentioned the discovery of a fossilwood shouldered celt in the are in 1886.[5] Dr. J Coggin Brown reported a prehistoric celt from Shitakunda in 1917.[6] In the area extensive occurrences of pebbles have been noticed, but it could not be ascertained whether such pebbles were used for the making of prehistoric tools in this region.[5]
In 1910, Indian Petroleum Prospecting Company drilled here for Hydrocarbon exploration, the first such activity in East Bengal. But, by 1914 all four wells drilled in Sitakunda proved to be failures.[7]
Economy
The main occupations of the local people are service (32.76%), commerce (13.88%), and agriculture (15.3%).[2] The local industry features a cement factory, 12 jute mills, 6 textile mills, 10 re-rolling mills, and 66 shipyards. Bean, melon, rubber and betel leaf are the main agricultural exports.[2] The rural poor is supported by Grameen Bank and NGOs like CARE, BRAC and ASA.
Pilgrimage
Sitakunda features 280 mosques (including the Shah Mosque) and 8 mazars (including Baro Awlias Mazar, Kalu Shah Mazar, Fakir Hat Mazar), 49 Hindu temples (inclduing Labanakhya Mandir, Chandranath Mandir, Shambunath Mandir) and 3 ashrams (inclduing Sitakunda Shankar Math), and 3 Buddhist temple.[2] The festivals of Shiva Chaturdashi and Chaitra Sankranti is observed in much fanfare and a large fairs.[2]
At the top of Chandranath hills near Sitakunda of Chittagong district right arm of Divine Mother Sati fell and this place is considered holy and one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. The Mother's name is Bhavani and the Bhairav or Shiva is called Chandrasekhar.
Biodiversity
A a botanical garden and eco-park was established in 2001 under a five-year (2000–2004) development project on 1,996 acres of Chandranath Hills at a cost of Tk 3.57 crore in Sitakunda. The eco-park was established to facilitate biodiversity conservation, natural regeneration, new plantations and infrastructure development, as well as promoting nature-based tourism to generate income. But, it is claimed that "ignoring the dependence of local people on park resources created conflicts between local communities and the park authority" and "prohibition on the extraction of forest products from the park... make the livelihoods of surrounding villagers vulnerable".[8]
Education
Average literacy of Sitakunda is 41.1% (7+ years) against a national average of 32.4% literate. [1][9]. The educational institutions of the upazila includes : Faujdarhat Cadet College (founded in 1958), 4 other colleges college (including Sitakunda Degree College founded in 1968), 24 high school (including Sitakunda Government High School founded in 1913), 10 madrasas, and 76 junior school and primary schools.[2] Bangladesh Military Academy is also situated in this upazila.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Population Census Wing, BBS". Archived from the original on 2005-03-27. Retrieved November 10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h Sitakunda, Banglapedia: The National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Retrieved: 2007-08-24
- ^ Geological Structure, Banglapedia: The National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Retrieved: 2007-08-24
- ^ Males constitute are 55.34% of the population, and females 44.66%
- ^ a b Prehistory, Banglapedia: The National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Retrieved: 2007-08-24
- ^ Brown, J. Coggin; Prehistoric antiquities of India preserved in the Indian museum at Calcutta (ed. Marshall, John Hubert); Cosmo, New Delhi, 1988
- ^ Hydrocarbon Exploration, Banglapedia: The National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Retrieved: 2007-08-24
- ^ Nath, T.K. and M. Alauddin, Sitakunda botanical garden and eco-park, chittagong, Bangladesh: Its impacts on a rural community, The International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management, Volume 2, Number 1, March 2006, pp. 1-11(11).
- ^ Male literacy 49.3% and female 30.6%