Nachole Upazila HQ

 township, subdistrict, fourth-level administrative division, local government

Nachole Upazila (Nawabganj district) with an area of 283.68 sq km, is bounded by Gomastapur upazila on the northwest, Shibganj and Nawabganj sadar upazilas on the southwest, Tanore upazila on the southeast, Niamatpur upazila on the northeast. Main river Mahananda; Lakshmikol, Aisha, Itail, Hazardighi and Damas beels are noted.

The location of the Nachole town is 24.7305252N 88.4164995E. Nachole (Town) consists of two mouzas with an area of 5.15 sq km. It has a population of 7931; male 53.2%, female 46.8%; density of population is 1540 per sq km. Literacy rate among the town people is 43.6%.

Nachole thana was established in 1918 and was turned into an upazila in 1984. The upazila consists of four union parishads, 201 mouzas and 190 villages.

Historical events; In 1949, tebagha movement spread over Nachole under the leadership of ila mitra co-operated by the leaders of the Communist Party. The peasants of Nachole, specially the Santals were the main force of this movement. This movement is also known as 'Nachole Movement', or 'Peasant Movement of Nachole'.

As of the 1991 Bangladesh census, Population 97119; male 51%, female 49%; Muslim 84.94%, Hindu 11.65% and others 3.41%; noted ethnic nationals are the Santals.

Religious institutions Mosque 357 and temple 4.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 24.6%; male 30.3% and female 18.5%. Educational institutions: college 7, secondary school 27, primary school (government) 38, primary school (private) 45. Nachole Pilot High School (1957) and Nachole Degree College (1972) are notable educational institutions.

Main occupations Agriculture 42.34%, agricultural labourer 34.11%, wage labourer 3.44%, commerce 9.07%, service 2.8%, others 8.24%

Land use Total cultivable land 26325 hectares; fallow land 201 hectares; single crop 55%, double crop 42%, triple crop land 2.24% and fallow land 0.76%.

Land control Among the peasants 30% are landless, 39% marginal, 25% intermediate and 6% rich; cultivable land per head 0.16 hectare.

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Fishery 1, dairy 2, poultry 27.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 71 km, semi pucca 7 km and mud road 355 km; railways 20.5; waterways 2 nautical mile.

Cottage industries Potteries and bamboo work.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, caritas, Aashroy, Bangladesh Islamic Youth Society.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, health and family welfare centres 4.