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Sandwip
I am originally from Kalapania Chowdhury Bari in Sandwip. My forefathers moved to Sandwip from Murshidabad,
India about 300 years ago and assumed Zamindari of Sandwip under the occupying British rulers in the 19th
century.
Our family house is situated in the Kalapania village which consists nearly half of the village.
We have a primary school, a post office, a hurricane shelter centre, a community centre and ofcourse the family
houses within the boundary of Chowdhury Bari.
We also have a mosque (named after my great-grandfather Abdul Gani Chowdhury
long after it was built) within the perimeter of our house which was built
by my forefathers about 300 years ago. The mosque is shown on the pictures
of this page.
Sandwip Factfile
Sandwip Upazila (Chittagong district) with an area of 762.42 sq km, is
bounded by Companiganj (Noakhali) upazila on the north, Bay of Bengal
on the south, Sitakunda and Mirsharai upazilas, and Sandwip Channel on
the east, Noakhali Sadar upazila, Hatiya Island and Meghna estuary on
the west. Sandwip is an island of the Meghna estuary.
Sandwip (Town) consists of 9 wards and 5 mahallas. The area of the town is 23.12 sq km. The town has a
population of 41488; male 47.48% and female 52.52%; population density per sq km 1794.
Literacy rate among the town people is 40.4%.
Administration: Sandwip upazila consists of 14 union parishads, 31 mouzas and 34 villages.
Religious institutions: Mosque 265, temple 72, most noted of which are Shahabanu Mosque,
Sandwip Town Jami Mosque, Sandwip Town Bazar Mosque and Abdul Gani Chowdhury Mosque(see pictures).
Population: 272179; male 49.68%, female 50.32%; Muslim 87.91%, Hindu 11.51% and others 0.58%.
Literacy and educational institutions: Average literacy 35.0%; male 40.8%; female 29.5%. Educational
institutions: college 3, high school 26, madrasa 14, government primary school 103, non-government
primary school 47.
Locally published newspaper Dwip Chitra.
Cultural organisations: Public library 2, cinema hall 1, community centre 13, rural club 17.
Main occupation: Agriculture 17.23%, fishing 2.65%, agricultural labourer 22.98%, wage labourer 5.48%,
transport 2.11%, commerce 10.36%, service 20.32%, renting house 2.45% and others 16.42%.
Land use: Total cultivable land 15120.60 hectares, fallow land 8469.04 hectares; single crop 35%,
double crop 45% and treble crop land 20%. Cultivable land under irrigation 85%.
Land control: Among the peasants, 58.96% are landless, 24.04% small and 17% intermediate.
Value of land: The market value of the land of the first grade is approximately Tk 7500 per 0.01 hectare.
Main crops: Paddy, jute, potato, aubergine, patal, betel leaf, betel nut, coconut, peanut, palm,
vegetables, sugarcane.
Main fruits: Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, guava, kul, date, jalpai (olive).
Fisheries: three fisheries.
Communication facilities: Roads: paved 10 km, semi-paved 19 km and unpaved 587 km;
waterways 22 nautical mile.
Manufactories: Rice mill 105, bidi factory 17, ice factory 4, hosiery 3 and printing press 2.
Cottage industries: Weaving 205, blacksmith 28, potteries 44, bamboo and cane work 378, wood work 178
and brass work 11.
Hats, bazars and fairs: Hats and bazars are 32, most noted of which are Akbar Hat, Shiber Hat,
Boktar Hat, Nazir Hat and Dhoper Hat; fair 1 (Baruni Mela).
Main exports: Paddy, fish, betel leaf, betel nut and vegetables.
NGO activities: Operationally important NGOs are ASA, PROSHIKA, CARE, CARITAS.
Health centres: Upazila health complex 2, family planning centre 3 and private clinic 3.
