GovTwin / Institution

Thakurgaon Sadar (Thakurgaon)

Local Gov

The district seat of Thakurgaon in the far northwest, its administrative and commercial centre and the hub for the district's paddy, wheat, maize and sugarcane economy.

Wealth rank 82/452 (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

air quality As the urban core of a district with the country's worst aerosol pollution, Thakurgaon Sadar concentrates brick kilns and traffic that load its air with particulates. So what: Residents in the district town face elevated respiratory health risk. Source: Department of Environment
water With no measurable permanent surface water in the district, the sadar's dry-season cropping relies fully on groundwater abstraction. So what: Falling groundwater threatens irrigation and drinking supply. Source: Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE)

Probable solutions

Convert brick kilns to cleaner technology and control crop-residue burning to cut aerosol loading around the district town Responsible: Department of Environment · policy proposal
Expand surface-water conservation, pond and canal re-excavation and water-saving irrigation to reduce groundwater dependence Responsible: Barind Multipurpose Development Authority / Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) · policy proposal