Tala Upazila

Tala Upazila (satkhira district) with an area of 344.15 sq km, is bounded by kalaroa, keshabpur and dumuria upazilas on the north, assasuni upazila on the south, Dumuria and paikgachha upazilas on the east, satkhira sadar upazila on the west. Main rivers are Kobadak and Betna; noted beel: Mathura.

Tala (Town) consists of two mouzas. The area of the town is 3.5 sq km. The town has a population of 4862; male 52.94% and female 47.06%. The density of population is 1389 per sq km. Literacy rate among the town people is 51.2%. The town has one dakbungalow.

Administration Tala thana was established in 1913 and was turned into an upazila in 1983. It consists of 13 union parishads, 150 mouzas and 228 villages.

Population 251388; male 51.31%, female 48.69%; Muslim 70.90%, Hindu 28.30%, Christian 0.55% and others 0.25%.

Religious institutions Mosque 422, temple 33, church 4, most noted of which is Tentulia Jami Mosque.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 29.7%; male 38.1% and female 20.8%. Educational institutions: college 6, high school and junior high school 54, madrasa 20, government primary school 109, non-government primary school 92. Noted educational institution: B D School (1887).

Cultural organisations Club 60, library 3, cinema hall 3, theatre group 1, theatre stage 1, women’s organisation 71, co-operative society 168.

Main occupations Agriculture 45.95%, fishing 1.72%, agricultural labourer 25.43%, wage labourer 2.18%, commerce 11.88%, service 3.36%, transport 2.51%, others 6.97%.

Land use Total cultivable land 26709.83 hectares, khas land 1641.43 hectares; single crop 34.85%, double crop 60.60% and treble crop land 4.55%.

Land control Among the peasants, 18.4% are landless, 20.7% marginal, 39.4% small, 17.6% intermediate and 3.9% rich; cultivable land per head 0.13 hectare.

Value of land The market value of the land of the first grade is approximately Tk 5000 per 0.01 hectare.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, potato, mustard seed, brinjal, tomato, chilli, onion, turmeric and varieties of pulse.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Tobacco, linseed, kaun and coriander.

Main fruits Mango, black berry, jackfruit, banana, papaya, litchi, guava, coconut,kul and betel nut.

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Poultry 16, fishery 1, shrimp 22, dairy 9, artificial breeding centre 2.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 45 km and mud road 720 km.

Traditional transport palanquin, bullock cart and horse carriage. These means of transport are either extinct or nearly extinct.

Manufactories Rice mill 60, oil mill 42.

Cottage industries Weaving 17, handicraft 103, goldsmith 77, blacksmith 35, potteries 60, iron and steel work 67, mat and nal khagra (reeds) work 209.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 40, most noted of which are Tala, Balia and Kathipara Hat.

Main exports Paddy, jute, wheat, potato, betel leaf, handicraft and shrimp.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, grameen bank, Uttaran, SAS, Setu, Alo, Rupali and CSS.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, health and family planning centre 11. [Ashraful Islam Goldar, Banglapedia]