Keraniganj Upazila


Keraniganj is an upazila of Dhaka District in the division of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

History

During the reign of Nawab Shaista Khan the paik-peyada and clerical staff of the Nawab are believed to have lived on the other side of the river Buriganga. The name Keraniganj is derived from this historical association.
Historically, it is believed that, after the regime change in 1757, Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah's wife and one of his aunts were in prison at Zinzira in Keraniganj. Strategically, Keraniganj played a vital role during the liberation war of Bangladesh, specially in the guerrilla warfare. Many of the guerrilla operations in Dhaka city were planned and conducted from Keraniganj and, for this reason, it had to pay for this.
The Pakistani army set fire to many houses in Konakhola, Basta, Brahmankirtha, Ghatarchar, Monohorea, Joynagar, Ramerkanda, Rohitpur, Poraati, Goalkhali and Khagail Kholamora villages. The Pakistani Army fired on many people at Zinzira on 2 April 1971. The freedom Fighters later conducted extensive guerrilla attacks on the Pakistani army and freed Keraniganj Upazila forever.

Geography

The town of Keraniganj stands on the southwest side of Dhaka City on the bank of the Buriganga river. Keraniganj Upazila with an area of 166.87 km2, is bounded by Savar Upazila and Mohammadpur, Hazaribagh, Kamrangir Char, Lalbagh, Kotwali and Sutrapur Thanas to the northeast, Shyampur Thana and Narayanganj and Sadar Upazilas to the east, Serajdikhan Upazila to the south, and by Nawabganj and Singair Upazilas to the west. The main rivers are the Buriganga and Dhaleshwari. Keraniganj is connected to Dhaka Metropolitan through two modern bridge over Buriganga river.
According to police administration, Keraniganj is now divided into two thanas which are South Keraniganj and Keraniganj Model Thana, respectively. The Bangladesh government has a plan to integrate Keraniganj Upazila into Dhaka municipality in the near future, to accommodate the expansion of the capital.

Demographics

According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census, Keraniganj Upazila had 263,995 households and a population of 1,011,063. 8.68% of the population were under 5 years of age. Keraniganj had a literacy rate of 81.18%: 82.72% for males and 79.42% for females, and a sex ratio of 113.83 males for every 100 females. 93,532 lived in urban areas.
According to the 2011 Census of Bangladesh, Keraniganj Upazila had 177,970 households and a population of 794,360. 167,044 were under 10 years of age. Keraniganj had a literacy rate of 58.5%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 883 females per 1000 males. The entire population lived in rural areas.

Notable residents

In 2019, an ethnopharmacological survey found 38 medicinal plant species used in Keraniganj by local folk healers. The healers primarily use leaves, and also roots, fruits, stems, bark, whole plants, seeds, flowers, and wood to treat about 30 ailments, including respiratory problems, gastrointestinal issues, fever, diabetes, skin diseases, pain, and more.