Austagram - অষ্টগ্রাম

Austagram Upazila (kishoreganj district) with an area of 335.53 sq km is bounded by mithamain upazila on the north, nasirnagar upazila on the south, lakhai upazila on the east, bajitpur upazila on the west. Main rivers 3; Ghora utra, Barak and meghna. Main beels are Bandra, Dhopa, Topa, Madan, Padma.

As of the 1991 Bangladesh census, Astagram has a population of 132303. Males constitute are 51.41% of the population, and females 48.59%. This Upazila's eighteen up population is 59377. It has an area of 2.15 sq km. Astagram has an average literacy rate of 38.2% (7+ years), and the national average of 32.4% literate.

Administration: Austagram thana, now an upazila, was established in 1915. It consists of eight unions, 59 mouzas and 73 villages.
Population 111459; male 51.41 %, female 48.59%; Muslim 82.84%, Hindu 15.64%, ethnic nationals and others 1.52%.
Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 14.1%; male 18.4%, female 9.4%. Educational institutions- college 1, high school 4, junior high school 1, madrasa 12, government primary school 45, non-government primary school 5.
Culture Officers club 1, public library 1, play ground 30.
Main occupations Agriculture 48.55%, fishing 3.43%, agricultural labourer 29.36%, non agricultural labourer 2.47%, commerce 5.53%, service 1.75%, others 8.91%.

Land use Total cultivable land 22899.07 hectares; fallow land 303.52 hectares; single crop 79.24%, double crops 19.50% and treble crops land 1.26%.
Land control Among the peasants 36% are landless, 20% small, 30% intermediate and 14% rich.

Value of land The market value of the land of the first grade is 2000 Taka per 0.01 hectare.
Main crops Paddy, mustard seed, potato, peanut and sesame.
Extinct or nearly extinct crops Jute.
Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya and black berry.
Fisheries, dairies, poultries Fishery 25, poultry 4, hatchery 10.
Communication facilities Roads- pucca road 2 km, mud road 214.

Traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart, horse carriage. These means of transport are either extinct or nearly extinct.
Main hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 9 the most noted are Austagram, Adampur, Sharifanagar; fairs 2, Banglapara and Abdullahpur.

Main exports Paddy, potato, banana, papaya and peanut.
NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, Gana Unnayan and ICDC.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, rural health centre 1, union health and family planning centre 1.