Atrai Upazila, Naogaon

Learn Details About Atrai Upazila

Atrai Upazila (Bangla: আত্রাই উপজেলা) is a southern upazila (sub-district) of Naogaon district. Previously, Atrai was a thana (Bangla: থানা), established in 1916, and it was upgraded to an Upazila in 1983 AD. It has an area of 284.41 km2 (109.81 sq mi) is bounded by Raninagar and Manda upazila on the north, Natore sadar upazila on the south, Singra upazila (Natore) on the east, Bagmara upazila (Rajshahi) on the west.

Atrai town is the administrative center of this upazila. It is situated on the bank of the Atrai river, with a distance of 27 km from Naogaon district town.

Geographical Location

The upazila located between approximately 24 degrees 32 inches and 24 degrees 42 inches north latitude and 88 degrees 49 inches and 89 degrees 06 inches east longitude.¹

Administration

The upazila consists of eight unions, 155 mouzas and 207 villages.

Electoral Area: 51, Naogaon-6 (Atrai-Raninagar)

List of Union Parishads

Atrai Upazila has a total of 8 union parishads (councils). The names of the union parishads are:

• Shahagola
• Bhonpara
• Ahsanganj
• Panchupur
• Bisha
• Maniary
• Kalikapur
• Hatkalupara

See a full list of Union Parishads in Naogaon district here.

Historical Places

The upazila has three historical sites; they are also protected monuments declared by the Government of Bangladesh. These are:

• Rabindranath’s Kachari Bari at Patisar (পতিসর রবীন্দ্র কাছারি বাড়ি)
• Gandhi Ashram (Bangiya Relief Committee)
• Islamganthi Mosque Mosque

For a complete list of historical sites and protected monuments within the Naogaon district, see here.

Population

Total Population in Atrai Upazila is 193,256. This data is based on 2011 census.²

Population by Type of Disability

Atrai Upazila has 1.2% of its population with physical disabilities, according to the 2011 census. This census identified six types of disabilities:

1. Speech: 0.2%
2. Vision: 0.2%
3. Hearing: 0.1%
4. Physical: 0.5%
5. Mental: 0.2%
6. Autism: 0.1%

Population by Religion

As of the 2022 census³, the total population of Atrai Upazila is 201,459. From this, Muslim hold 91.18% of its total population. It is the major religious group in this upazila. Hindus are the second-largest group at 8.79%, while Christians and Buddhists have very minimal representation. “Others” constitute a small fraction of 0.02%, indicating some diversity but with Muslims and Hindus as the predominant communities.

Literacy and Educational Institutions

Atrai upazila’s most old educational institution in Bandaikhara School, that established in 1874.

Number of Educational Institution

Total Educational Institutions in the upazila is 251

• Government Primary Schools: 130
• Private Kindergartens: 3
• Lower Secondary Schools (Girls): 1
• Lower Secondary Schools (Co-ed): 2
• Secondary Schools (Girls): 2
• Secondary Schools (Co-ed): 29
• Higher Secondary Colleges (Girls): 1
• Higher Secondary Colleges (Co-ed): 1
• Technical Colleges (Girls): 1
• Technical Colleges (Co-ed): 6
• Degree Colleges (Women): 1
• Degree Colleges (Co-ed): 2
• School and College: 2⁴

Historical Literacy Rate Chart

This chart represents the literacy rate of Atrai Upazila of Naogaon for various census years. The data is sourced from District Statistics 2011, Naogaon.

Number of Religious Institutions in Atrai Upazila

Two types of religious institutions are found: one is for prayer-based activities, and the other is for religious education. At this time, the data here includes a count of prayer-based religious institutions only in Atrai Upazila as per 2011 census.⁵ These figures are symbolic of the religious environment of the area, mainly dominated by Islamic culture. Conversely, the existence of a significant number of Hindu temples indicates a vibrant Hindu community actively participating in religious and cultural events. However, the absence of churches and pagodas in Atrai Upazila indicates a limited presence of Christian and Buddhist communities, respectively. Overall, the data provides a fine-grained account of the religious prayer infrastructure of Atrai Upazila.

Number of Prayer-based Religious Institutions

• Mosque: 296
• Eid-Gah: 110
• Temple (Mandir): 108
• Church (Girza): 0
• Pagoda: 0
• Others: 0

Number of Education-based Religious Institutions

Madrasas (for muslims): 15

Education-based religious institutions play a crucial role in nurturing religious understanding and instilling values within religious communities. In this context, Atrai Upazila has 15 madrasas specifically catering to the Muslim community. But it’s worth mentioning that there are no institutions dedicated to other religious communities. This fact indicates the dominance of Islamic educational facilities in the upazila.

Public and Private Facilities in Atrai Upazila

Listed here are the numbers of government and private service institutions and facilities available to citizens in Atrai Upazila of Naogaon district. It should be noted that the data is based on the District Statistics 2011 – Naogaon. Therefore, the figures in the table may differ from current statistics.

Agriculture in Atrai Upazila of Naogaon

Atrai is an agriculture-based upazila and it plays a major role in upazila’s economy. The upazila contains fertile land that is suitable for great agricultural production.

The upazila features various types of land, including high land, medium-high land, medium land, medium-low land, low land, and very low land. While more than three crops are cultivated on highland, the other areas of the upazila can cultivate single-crop, double-crop, and triple-crop. Farmers schedule and choose types of crops depending on the type of land.

Atrai Upazila produces more food than is required. The area’s food production significantly exceeds its requirements resulting in substantial surpluses.⁶

Cultivable Land Classification Chart

This chart represents the classification of cultivable land in Atrai Upazila. The data is measured in hectares.

Annual Food Production and Demand Chart

This chart represents the annual food production and demand in Atrai Upazila. The data is measured in metric tons.

NGO Activities in Atrai Upazila

Important NGOs those are actively operetional in Atrai are: Grameen Bank (গ্রামীণ ব্যাংক), Caritas, Brac (ব্র্যাক), Proshika (প্রশিকা), Ujjiban, Asa (আশা), GUK etc.

Health Centres

Upazila health complex: 1
Union health and family welfare centre: 9

References and Footnotes

1. Atrai Upazila – এক নজরে আত্রাই  ↩︎
2. District Statistics 2011, Naogaon ↩︎
3. Population and Housing Census 2022, District Report – Naogaon ↩︎
4. Atrai Upazila – এক নজরে আত্রাই ↩︎
5. District Statistics 2011, Naogaon ↩︎
6. Upazila Agriculture Office, Atrai, Naogaon – At a Glance ↩︎