MATLAB
Matlab Upazila (chandpur district) with an area of 409.22 sq km, is bounded by daudkandi and gazaria upazilas on the north, chandpur sadar and hajiganj upazilas on the south, kachua (Chandpur) upazila on the east, munshiganj sadar and bhedarganj upazilas on the west. Main rivers are Lower Meghna, Gumti and Dhonagoda; Meghna-Dhanagoda Irrigation Project is notable.

Matlab (Town) consist of 9 wards and 31 mahallas. The area of the town in 3.26 sq km. It has a population of 52296; male 49.42, female 50.58; density of population per sq km is 16042. Literacy rate among the town people is 61.4%.

Administration Matlab thana, now an upazila, was established in 1818. It consists of 2 municipalities (Matlab and Chengar Char), 18 wards, 72 mahallas, 22 union parishads, 244 mouzas and 407 villages.

Archaeological heritage and relics Neelkuthi at Munsifdi, homestead of the zamindar at Ludhua and Baraduara at Kashimpur.

Marks of War of Liberation Mass grave at Harina; memorial monument at Chandrakanti; Diptabangla Sculpture at upazila sadar.

Population 445607; male 49.31%, female 50.69%; Muslim 89.97%, Hindu 9.21% and others 0.82%.

Religious institutions Mosque 692, temple 116, tomb 4, khanqah 1; noted religious institutions: Matlab Bazar Mosque, Narayanpur Bazar Mosque, Dhanar Par Mosque, Upadi Buddhist Math, tombs of Hazrat Sulaiman (R) at Badarpur, Hazrat Borhanuddin (R) at Faraizikandi, Hazrat Ainuddin (R) at Bara Haldia, Hazrat Kamlishah (R) at Mohanpur, khanqah sharif of Jainpuri at Sahapur.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 36.1%; male 41.8% and female 30.6%. Educational institutions: college 10, high school 61, madrasa 22, government primary school 184, non-government primary school 68, community school 22 and satellite school 15. Noted educational institutions: Boalia High School (1917), Charkalia High School (1921), Matlabganj J B Pilot High School, Matlab Girl's High School, Aushinpur High School, Kachiara High School, Narayanpur High School, Chengarchar High School, Ludhua High School, Matlab Degree College (1964) and Faraizikandi Al-wasia Madrasa (Nedaye Islam).

Cultural organisations Club 150, cinema hall 2, co-operative society 423, theatre group 2.

Main occupations Agriculture 40.86%, fishing 2.75%, agricultural labourer 19.4%, wage labourer 2.68%, commerce 10.7%, service 13.10%, and others 10.51%.

Land use Total cultivable land 28410.36 hectares, fallow land 12512.75 hectares; single crop 6.36%, double crop 54.30% and treble crop land 39.34%; land under irrigation 17200 hectares.

Value of land The market value of the land of the first grade is Tk 15000 per 0.01 hectare.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, jute, mustard seed and sesame.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Linseed and varieties of pulse.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, papaya, black berry, guava, amrul, jamrul and kamranga.

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Poultry 46, fishery 4030, dairy 31 and hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 64.10 km, semi pucca 8 km and mud road 682 km; waterways 16 nautical mile.

Traditional transport Palanquin (extinct).

Manufactories Cold storage 3.

Cottage industries Goldsmith 350, blacksmith 128, potteries 36, weaving 22.

Hats, bazars and fairs Total number of hats and bazars are 40, most noted of which are Matlabganj, Narayanpur, Nayergaon, Kalir Bazar, Chengarchar, Munshir Hat and Amirabad Bazar; noted fairs: Rathyatra Mela (Boalia), Langtar Mela (Badarpur).

Main exports Potato, fish and jute.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, proshika, grameen bank, Chasi Kalyan Samiti (Peasant Welfare Society) and Nijera Kari (do ourselves).

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union satellite clinic 6, family welfare centre 19 and icddr,b. [Masum Patwari]