GovTwin / Institution

Astagram (Kishoreganj)

Local Gov

A deep-haor upazila in eastern Kishoreganj, almost wholly inundated in the monsoon and isolated by water for much of the year.

Wealth rank 18/452 (1 = poorest upazila)

Indicators: Meta RWI (HDX); ERA5-Land; MODIS; Sentinel-5P; VIIRS night-lights; GHSL; Hansen v1.11; CHIRPS v2.0. Exposure: GloFAS v2.1, FABDEM, MODIS LST, ACAG PM2.5, WorldPop 2020.

Problems and issues

  1. climate disaster As one of the most exposed haor upazilas, Astagram's single boro paddy crop is threatened by early flash floods overtopping submersible embankments before harvest. So what: A single early flood can wipe out an entire year's food and income. Source: Bangladesh Water Development Board
  2. infrastructure Surrounded by open haor, Astagram has limited all-weather road links and depends on boats for much of the year, isolating its unions from markets and health centres. So what: Emergency care and crop marketing are delayed or impossible during inundation. Source: LGED
  3. poverty Astagram carries a mean Relative Wealth Index of -0.38, in the poorest decile nationally (rank 18 of 452), reflecting deep deprivation in this water-locked haor population. So what: Households have little buffer to absorb a lost boro harvest. Source: Meta Data for Good Relative Wealth Index (HDX)

Probable solutions