Sarankhola Upazila (bagerhat district) with an area of 756.61 sq km, bounded by morrelganj upazila on the north, the bay of bengal on the south, mathbaria and patharghata upazilas on the east, mongla upazila on the west. Main rivers are Balleshwar, Haringhata and Chandpai; the Sundarban covers major area of the upazila.

Sarankhola (Town) consists of 2 mouzas. The area of the town is 29.08 sq km. It has a population of 24903; male 51.72%, female 48.28%. The density of population is 856 per sq km. The literacy rate among the town people is 44.6%. The town has one dakbungalow.

Administration Sarankhola thana was established in 1908 and was turned into an upazila in 1982. It consists of 5 union parishads, 12 mouzas and 45 villages.

Religious institutions Mosque 171 and temple 18.

Population 107856; male 51.28%, female 48.72%; Muslim 91.11%, Hindu 8.84%, others 0.05%.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 35.4%; male 39%, female 31.9%. Educational institutions: college 1, high school 9, junior school 8, community school 7, madrasa 11, satellite school 14, government primary school 34 and non-government primary school 71.

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly Bananchal.

Cultural organisations Press club 1, cinema hall 2, cultural organisation 2.

Main occupations Agriculture 32.94%, forestry 8.65%, fishing 4.27%, agricultural labourer 11.96%, wage labourer 7.32%, commerce 14.14%, service 5.78%, others 14.94%.

Land use Arable land 11616 hectares, fallow land 829 hectares; single crop 53.02%, double crop 26.67% and treble crop land 20.31%.

Land control Among the peasants, 35.03% landless, 7.23% marginal, 22.10% small, 29.67% intermediate, 5.97% rich; cultivable land per head 0.09 hectare.

Value of land Market value of first grade of land is Tk 2500 per 0.01 hectare.

Main crops Paddy and pulse.

Extinct and nearly extinct crops Coconut and betel nut.

Main fruits Banana, litchi, lemon and mango.

Poultries 23.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 25 km, semi pucca 34 km and mud road 150 km.

Traditional transport Palanquin (extinct), horse carriage and bullock cart (nearly extinct) and boat.

Manufactories Welding 5, ice factory 3.

Cottage industries Bamboo and cane work 15, goldsmith 15, blacksmith 2, weaving 11.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 4, most noted of which are Raenda Bazar and Tafalbari Bazar.

NGO activities brac, grameen bank and Agradut.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 4. [Md. Moshfequr Rahman]