Lohagara ( bn, লোহাগড়া) is an

upazila An ''upazila'' ( bn, উপজেলা, upôzela, lit=sub-district pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative region in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a ...

Narail District Narail ( bn, নড়াইল, pron: ''nɔɽail'') is a district in south-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Khulna Division. History Narail town was named after a feudal lord (a zamindar). The zamindars established a market at Roopgonj, als ...

in the Division of

Khulna Khulna ( bn, খুলনা, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of Khulna District and Khulna Division. Khulna's economy is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 b ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. Lohagara Thana was established in 1861 and was converted into an upazila in 1984. It is named after its administrative center, the town of Lohagara.

Geography

Lohagara Upazila has a total area of . Situated between the Nabaganga and

Madhumati ''Madhumati'' is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language paranormal romance film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar in lead roles, with Pran and Johnny ...

rivers, it borders

Magura District Magura ( bn, মাগুরা) is a district in south-western Bangladesh, situated 176 kilometers from Dhaka. It is a part of Khulna Division. The main mode of transportation is by bus, and no train transport is available. Administration Magur ...

to the north,

Dhaka Division Dhaka Division ( bn, ঢাকা বিভাগ, ''Ḑhaka Bibhag'') is an administrative division within Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of the Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains a populati ...

to the east,

Kalia Upazila Kalia ( bn, কালিয়া) is an upazila of Narail District in the Division of Khulna, Bangladesh. Kalia Thana was established in 1866 and was converted into an upazila in 1984. It is named after its administrative center, the town of Kali ...

to the south, and

Narail Sadar Upazila Narail Sadar ( bn, নড়াইল সদর) is an upazila of Narail District in the Division of Khulna, Bangladesh. Narail Thana was established in 1861 and was converted into an upazila (a sub-district) in 1984. The upazila takes its name fro ...

to the west.

Demographics

According to the

2011 Bangladesh census In 2011, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, conducted a national census in Bangladesh, which provided a provisional estimate of the total population of the country as 142,319,000. The previous decennial census was the 2001 census. Data were reco ...

, Lohagara Upazila had 51,233 households and a population of 228,594, 11.1% of whom lived in urban areas. 10.9% of the population was under the age of 5. The literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 61.9%, compared to the national average of 51.8%.

Points of interest

Kalibari Mandir is a Hindu temple in Lakshmipasha dedicated to the goddess

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

. Writing in 1870, James Westland, former Magistrate and Collector of Jessore, gave an account of its origins:

A hundred years ago, and more, there lived here a pious blacksmith who used frequently to make images of Kali, and after worshipping them to cast them into the river, according to the ceremony of 'bissarjan.' But one night Kali appeared to him and told him that she had determined permanently to take up her abode with him; so he gave her a house. Not very long since a masonry temple was built for her.

Administration

Lohagara Upazila is divided into Lohagara Municipality and 12

union parishad Union council ( bn, ইউনিয়ন পরিষদ, translit=iūniyan pariṣad, translit-std=IAST), also known as union parishad, rural council, rural union and simply union, is the smallest rural administrative and local government unit ...

s: Dighalia, Itna, Joypur, Kashipur, Kotakul, Lahuria, Lakshmipasha, Lohagara, Mallikpur, Naldi, Noagram, and Shalnagar. The union parishads are subdivided into 154 mauzas and 217 villages. Lohagara Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 24 mahallas.

Education

There are seven colleges in the upazila. They include Lakshmi Pasha Ideal Women's Degree College, Nabaganga Degree College,Itna College (1995) and S.M.A. Ahad College. Lohagara Adarsha College is the only honors level one. The madrasa education system includes one fazil madrasa.

References