Baghmara Upazila

Baghmara Upazila (rajshahi district) area 366.26 sq km, located in between 24°30' and 24°41' north latitudes and in between 88°41' and 88°58' east longitudes. It is bounded by manda and atrai upazilas on the north, durgapur, puthia and natore sadar upazilas on the south, Atrai and Natore Sadar upazilas on the east, mohanpur upazila on the west.

Population Total 354664; male 177157, female 177507; Muslim 338013, Hindu 16494, Christian 6 and others 151.

Water bodies Main river: Baranai; Fakinni river, Beel Joshoi, Takta Beel, Mosher Beel, Nakkati Beel, Katila Beel and Bagir Dara (water channel), Talgharia Dara and Komorpur Dara are notable.

Administration Baghmara Thana was formed in 1869 and it was turned into an upazila in 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
2	16	273	332	38214	316450	968	44.30 (2001)	45.5

Bhawaniganj Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
13.34 (2001)	9	23	17955	1178 (2001)	51.5

Taherpur Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
10.84 (2001)	9	17	17944	1552 (2001)	54.8

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
2.40 (2001)	1	2315	872 (2001)	48.5

Union
Name of Union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Auch Para 20	6760	13420	13265	46.8
Kachhari Kayali Para 72	1425	3777	3732	46.1
Ganipur 50	8953	18439	18030	46.9
Gobinda Para 44	6673	11399	11308	45.4
Goalkandi 37	5946	12082	12193	43.7
Jhikra 63	6163	10935	11091	41.1
Dwippur 31	3396	4839	5013	37.0
Nardas 82	5893	9682	9846	45.0
Bara Bihanali 22	3812	6187	6384	39.9
Basu Para 24	7111	13487	13456	48.7
Maria 75	4550	9691	9796	45.6
Jogi Para 69	7022	12295	12535	45.0
Subhadanga 94	6034	12733	12860	52.1
Sreepur 88	2789	5931	5858	43.4
Sonadanga 85	2593	4290	4394	45.1
Hamir Kutsha 56	5412	9823	9994	45.2

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Mazar of Panchpir and Shahi Mosque at village Achin Ghat on the bank of the river Baranai.

War of Liberation On 24 May 1971 the Pak army made a surprise attack on Taherpur Hat and shot 25 persons dead. A group of freedom fighters led by Havilder Shafiq attacked a patrol boat of the Pak army and killed 18 Pakistani soldiers.

For details: see বাগমারা উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৬।

Religious institutions Mosque 1239, temple 65, tomb 6. Noted religious institutions: Taherpur Bara Mosque.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 46.3%; male 52.2%, female 40.5%. Educational institutions: college 16, technical education institute 2, secondary school 120, primary school 210, madrasa 80. Noted educational institutions: Taherpur Degree College, Pania Nardas College, Bhawaniganj College, Machmail College, Mohanganj College, Bir-kutsha Abinash High School (1917), Hat Ganga Para High School (1925).

Newspapers and periodicals Shilpa and Krishi.

Cultural organisations Club 100, theatre group 5, jatra party 5, cinema hall 4.

Main sources of income Agriculture 76.76%, non-agricultural labourer 1.97%, industry 0.05%, commerce 9.35%, transport and communication 2.55%, service 3.33%, construction 0.63%, religious service 0.08%, rent and remittance 0.09% and others 4.72%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 69.88%, landless 30.12%; agricultural landowner: urban 59.29% and rural 71.14%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, corn, mustard, sesame, betel leaf, vegetables.'

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Barley, kaun, jute, linseed, masuri, gram, khesari.

Main fruits Mango, banana, jackfruit, litchi, papaya, guava, plum.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Poultry 20, dairy 45, hatchery 11.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 203 km, semi-pucca road 10 km, mud road 358 km; railway 8 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart and horse carriage.

Noted manufactories Ice factory 15, welding 20, cold-storage 4.

Cottage industries Blacksmith 80, potteries 140, weaving 15, bamboo work 230, cane work 76.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 30, fairs 5, most noted of which are Taherpur, Bhawaniganj, Mohanganj, Madariganj, Machmail, Gangopara, Barahat, Hamir Kutsha, Akdala, Nardas, Damnash, Shikdari hats and Dekhaltala Mela.

Main exports Betel leaf, banana, papaya, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electricity net-work. However 41.6% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 91.4%, tap 3.0% and others 5.6%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 57.1% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 36.0% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 6.9% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, family planning centre 10, satellite clinic 6.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, proshika, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha. [Md Asadul Islam]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Baghmara Upazila 2007.