Kalapara is an Upazila of Patuakhali District

Patuakhali District

Patuakhali is a district in South-western Bangladesh. It is a part of the Barisal Division.This is the main entrance for the beach of Kuakata. Famous for watching both the sun rise and sun set. It is called "The Daughter of Sea".-Geography:...

 in the Division of Barisal

Barisal Division

Barisal Division is located in south-central Bangladesh, with an area of 13,644.85 km2, and with a population of 8,147,000 at the 2011 Census . It is bounded by Dhaka division on the north, the Bay of Bengal on the south, Chittagong division on the east and Khulna division on the west...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

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Geography

Kalapara is located at 21.9861°N 90.2422°E . It has 31324 units of house hold and total area 483.08 km².

Demographics

As of the 1991 Bangladesh census

1991 Bangladesh census

In 1991, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, conducted a national census in Bangladesh. They recorded data from all of the districts and upazilas and main cities in Bangladesh including statistical data on population size, households, sex and age distribution, marital status, economically active...

, Kalapara has a population of 174921. Males constitute are 50.89% of the population, and females 49.11%. This Upazila's eighteen up population is 82394. Kalapara has an average literacy rate of 34.9% (7+ years), and the national average of 32.4% literate.

Administrative

Kalapara thana was established in 1906 and was turned into an upazila in 1983. It consists of 9 union parishads, 57 mouzas and 247 villages. Kalapara (Town) consists of 9 wards and 24 mahallas. The area of the town 19.49 sq km. It has a population of 16330; male 55.18%, female 44.82%. The density of population is 838 per sq km. The literacy rate among the town people is 39.37%. The town has one dakbungalow.

Archaeological heritage

Kuakata Buddhist Vihara, Kapradanga Buddhist Math (dilapidated), Mistripara Buddhist Vihara (dilapidated).

Historical events

The Rakhain tribe of Bangladesh first settled in this upazila. A section of the people belonging to the Buddhist Rakhain tribe of Arakan came to this upazila in quest of better living and first settled at Khepupara and Kuakata. Tradition goes that the Rakhains on excavating wells traced fresh water in the area and thereby settled there. The Rakhain word 'kansai' means 'beach of fate'. The place was named as Kansai after this. The place was subsequently renamed as Kuakata (digging of well) after the wells dug out by the Rakhanis. The upazila though named as Kalapara, the upazila sadar is known as Khepupara. It is said that two influential Rakhain chiefs used to reside on either side of a canal running northsouth through the upazila, Kalau Magh on the eastern bank and Khepu Magh on the western side. The habitation on eastern bank of the canal was named as Kalapara after the name of Kalau Magh and that on the western bank as Khepupara after Khepu Magh.

Religious institutions

Mosque 275, temple 41, pagoda 4, Buddhist Vihara 8, church 2, mazar 1. Notable institutions: Kalapara Jami Masjid, Kuakata Buddhist Vihara, mazar of pir Bashiruddin at Kalapara.