Sonagazi Upazila

Sonagazi
সোনাগাজী
Upazila
Location of Sonagazi
Coordinates (Sonagazi upazila parishad): 22°51′27.44683″N 91°23′44.02031″E / 22.8576241194°N 91.3955611972°E / 22.8576241194; 91.3955611972
Country Bangladesh
DivisionChittagong
DistrictFeni
Government
 • Upazila parishad chairmanJahir Uddin Mahmud (  AL)
 • Upazila Nirbahi OfficerKamrul Hasan
Area
 • Total284.9 km2 (110.0 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total290,664
 • Density1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+6 (Bangladesh Standard Time)
WebsiteOfficial Website of Sonagazi Upazila

Sonagazi (Bengali: সোনাগাজী) is an upazila (sub-district) of Feni District[1] in Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. It is represented by the Feni-3 constituency in the Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament). In 1920, Sonagazi Thana was formed and was turned into an upazila in 1983.[1]

History

See also: History of Noakhali

During the Mughal period, the areas around the Feni river, near the coast of the Bay of Bengal, saw the establishment of Jugidiya and Amirgaon thanas in the then Bhulua region of Noakhali. However, due to natural erosion of the river, these thanas were rendered ineffective. Consequently, in 1886, a new police station named Sonagazi was established in order to reinstate law enforcement measures in the southern region of Feni. Legend has it that Sona Ghazi Bhuyan, a notable figure from the Ghazi family of landowners belonging to the Baro-Bhuyan confederacy, played a pivotal role in developing a market for salt trade in the coastal area. This is how the area came to be known as Sonagazi.[2]

Geography

Sonagazi Muhuri Irrigation Project, Feni

Sonagazi upazila is bounded by Feni Sadar and Daganbhuiyan upazilas on the north, Bay of Bengal on the south, Mirsarai upazila on the east, and Companiganj upazila of Noakhali district and Daganbhuiyan upazila on the west. It is situated in the southern part of the district, the only upazila to have a coastline with the Bay of Bengal.[1]

Demographics

Religions in Sonagazi upazila (2011)[3]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 93.78%
Hinduism
 
 6.17%
Other or not stated
 
 0.05%

As of the 2022 Bangladesh census, Sonagazi upazila had 67,320 households and a population of 290,664 with an average 4.28 people per household. Sonagazi had an average literacy rate of 75.84%, compared to the national average of 74.8%, and a sex ratio of 1158 females per 1000 males.[4]

Religion

According to the 2011 census, religious groups in Sonagazi Upazila included:[3]

Language

Main article: Noakhailla language

The primary dialect of Bengali spoken by the people of Feni district, including Sonagazi Upazila, is the Noakhailla language.[5]

Economy

Agriculture constitutes a significant portion of the sources of income for Sonagazi, contributing approximately 36.40% to the economy. Other major sources of income include commerce (12.67%), services (15.62%), rent and remittance (14.04%), and various other activities such as non-agricultural labor (3.35%), industry (1.58%), transport and communication (4.40%), construction (2.11%), and religious services (0.56%).[1]

Infrastructure

Sonagazi is renowned for its sluice gate referred to as Muhuri Irrigation Project. Constructed in the late 1980s, this infrastructure serves the purpose of regulating the water flow of the Feni river and irrigating nearby farmland. Later in 2005, a now-defunct 900-kilowatt wind power plant consisting of four wind turbines was constructed near the river. The area has garnered attention as a notable tourist destination in the region.[2][6][7]

Sonagazi currently hosts a solar farm generating 75 megawatts of power, with additional plans underway to establish more.[8][9] Additionally, there are proposals for the constructions of several more wind and combined-cycle power stations to meet the rising energy demand of the nearby Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar economic zone.[6][10]

In 2018, a highly anticipated 478-metre-long bridge spanning the Little Feni River was inaugurated with the aim of improving connectivity with Noakhali and Lakshmipur districts.[11]

Government and politics

Sonagazi upazila is divided into one pourasabha (municipality): Sonagazi pourasabha, and nine union parishads (councils): Amirabad, Bagdana, Char Majlishpur, Char Darbesh, Char Chandia, Mangalkandi, Motiganj, Nawabpur, and Sonagazi. The union parishads are subdivided into 94 mauzas and 95 villages.[3]

Sonagazi pourasabha is subdivided into 9 wards and 14 mahallas,[3] with the mayor, Rafiqul Islam Khokan, elected in the 2021 municipal elections.[12]

Jahir Uddin Mahmud is the presently elected Upazila parishad (council) chairman[13] and Kamrul Hasan was appointed Upazila nirbahi officer (executive officer) for Sonagazi Upazila.[14]

Schools and colleges

  • Al-Helal Academy Sonagazi
  • Sonagazi Government College
  • Sonagazi Girls' Pilot High School
  • Bakter Munshi High School
  • Sonagazi Islamia Fazil Degree Madrasah

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Mahiuddin Hossain Mahin (2012), "Sonagazi Upazila", in Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal (ed.), Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
  2. ^ a b Ahmed, Jamir (1990). ফেনীর ইতিহাস [History of Feni] (in Bengali). Dhaka. pp. 10, 147.{cite book}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ a b c d "District Statistics 2011: Feni" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  4. ^ "National Report Volume 1 - Population and Housing Census 2022" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. November 2023.
  5. ^ Ullash, Al Shahriar (2023). "Linguistics Features of Fenian (Noakhali) Language- a dialect in Bangladesh". ResearchGate. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.30955.52007.
  6. ^ a b "Country's first big leap in wind energy from December". The Business Standard. 2022-07-21. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  7. ^ "পর্যটনের সম্ভাবনা মিরসরাইয়ের মুহুরী প্রজেক্ট" [Tourism potential of Muhuri project at Mirsarai]. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 2023-08-26. Archived from the original on 2023-09-06.{cite web}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ "Another 100MW solar power plant in Feni on the cards". Dhaka Tribune. 2023-10-03.
  9. ^ "Sonagazi 75MW solar power plant to start generation soon". The Financial Express. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  10. ^ "Govt moves for more power plants in Feni to feed economic zones". The Business Standard. 2023-09-12. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  11. ^ "সোনাগাজীবাসীর কাংখিত 'ছোট ফেনী নদী সেতু' উদ্বোধন" [Inauguration of the much-awaited Little Feni River Bridge]. ABNEWS24 (in Bengali). 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  12. ^ "ফের সোনাগাজী পৌরসভার মেয়র হলেন খোকন" [Khokon again elected as the mayor of Sonagazi municipality]. Jagonews24.com (in Bengali). 2021-09-20. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  13. ^ "সোনাগাজীতে উপজেলা চেয়ারম্যান বিনা প্রতিদ্বন্দ্বিতায় নির্বাচিত" [Sonagazi upazila chairman elected unopposed]. ABNEWS24 (in Bengali). 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  14. ^ "Sonagazi Upazila Officials". Sonagazi Upazila. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  15. ^ Khan, Abu Sayeed (2012). "Raihan, Zahir". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  16. ^ Alam, Muhammad Shamsul (2012). "Kaiser, Shahidullah". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  17. ^ "Selim Al Deen no more". The Daily Star. 15 January 2008.
  18. ^ "List of 5th Parliament Members". Bangladesh Parliament (in Bengali).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sonagazi Upazila.