Kalapara

Kalapara is an Upazila of Patuakhali District in the Division of Barisal, Bangladesh.HistoryThe 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.GeographyKalapara is located at. It has 31324 households and total area 483.08 km². The major rivers are the Andharmanik, Nilganj, and Dhankhali.DemographicsAs of the 1991 Bangladesh census, Kalapara has a population of 174921. Males constitute 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.