Paba Upazila

Paba Upazila (rajshahi district) area 340.03 sq km, located in between 24°18' and 24°31' north latitudes and in between 88°28' and 88°43' east longitudes. It is bounded by mohanpur and tanore upazilas on the north, west bengal state of India and charghat upazila on the south, puthia and durgapur (rajshahi) upazilas on the east, godagari upazila on the west.

Population Total 314196; male 159452, female 154744; Muslim 304503, Hindu 5665, Christian 3154 and others 874. Indigenous communities such as santal, oraon, Paharia and Buno belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: padma, Shiba.

Administration Paba Thana was formed in 1949 and it was turned into an upazila on 11 November 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
2	8	141	209	85732	228464	924	57.7	47.5

Katakhali Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
-	9	20	28613	-	60.0

Noahata Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
-	9	40	57119	-	56.4

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Darshan Para 43	3507	6613	6643	45.8
Damkur 35	4444	10443	10338	48.0
Parila 87	7993	19600	18844	46.2
Baragachhi 27	9500	19450	19203	49.0
Haragram 51	4258	19337	18867	47.7
Haripur 61	12477	14408	13730	50.1
Harian 54	23062	12488	12072	46.7
Hujuri Para 65	6792	13372	13056	45.8

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Noahata Bagdhani Mosque (1830), Taraf Parila Mosque, Miapur Mosque (1558), tomb of Hazrat Madan Shah Niamat Ullah Hussain (R) at' Basantapur, two ancient Buddhist Maths (Deva Para).

Historical events Hindu Muslim riot was held at village Hujuri Para Sarusa in 1962, when there had been a riot between the two communities in many other parts of India. After the partition of India many Muslim families established settlements during the period between 1947 and 1965 in this upazila coming from Maldaha and Murshidabad areas through exchange of land. In the region they are known as ‘land exchange refugee’.

War of Liberation During the war of liberation the Pak army forced 27 youths of Sonaikandi of Haripur union to dig a mass grave and buried them all in it after killing them by firing. The Pak army made a surprise attack on the Police Camp of Bolanpur and killed all the freedom fighters and police staff and buried them at a brickfield. The freedom fighters destroyed a patrol vehicle of the Pak army by ambush on the Rajshahi-Nawabganj road near Kashba Sugarcane Purchase Centre and killed 10/12 Pakistani soldiers. The Pak army established a camp at Godagari Hat of this upazila and tortured the nearby villagers. There is a mass grave at Sonaikandi and a mass killing site near the Zoha Hall of Rajshahi University; a memorial monument has been built at the playground of Nowahata College.

For details: see পবা উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৫।

Religious institutions Mosque 400, temple 5, church 7. Noted religious institutions: Bagdhani Mosque, Noahata Jami Mosque, Kharkhari Baroari Mandir, Musorail Mandir at Narikel Baria.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 50.3%; male 51.8%, female 48.8%. Educational institutions: college 9, technical school 2, secondary school 46, primary school 175, madrasa 16. Noted educational institutions: Hat Ramchandrapur College (Hat Godagari), Noahata Mohila College (Noahata Bazar), Maskatadia Multilateral Technical High School (1952), Baragachha Secondary School (1944), Kharkhari Government Primary School (1885), Shitlai Government Primary School (1885), Noahata Government Primary School (1885), Baya Government Primary School (1887).

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 28, cinema hall 5, women's organisation 64, playground 70.

Main sources of income Agriculture 54.68%, non-agricultural labourer 4.89%, industry 0.83%, commerce 14.88%, transport and communication 6.42%, service 38.30%, construction 2.37%, religious service 0.16%, rent and remittance 0.20% and others 7.28%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 49.46%, landless 50.54%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, jute, potato, onion, vegetables, betel leaf.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, motor, mustard, linseed, arahar.

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

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 50, dairy 222, poultry 48, hatchery 5.

Communication facilities Pucca road 357 km, semi-pucca road 44 km, mud road 546 km; railway 5 km; waterway 5 km. Railstation 2 (Harian, Shitlai), airport 1 (Noahata).

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage.

Noted manufactories Sugar mill 1, jute mill 1, flour mill 65, oil mill 5, saw mill 12, ice factory 10, welding factory 45, bidi factory 30, cold storage 8, brick-field 66.

Cottage industries Goldsmith 30, blacksmith 40, potteries 150, weaving 50, bamboo work 150.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 19, fairs 3, most noted of which are Noahata Hat, Damkur Hat, Baragachhi Hat, Katakhali Hat, Noahata Krishi Mela and Maugachhi Durga Puja Mela.

Main exports Sugar, paddy, jute, molasses, betel leaf, potato, mango, banana, papaya, litchi, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 67.2% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 90.7%, tap 6.0% and others 3.3%. Arsenic has been detected in the water of the shallow tube wells of 6 unions our of 9 unions of the upazila.

Sanitation 43.8% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 47.2% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 9.0% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health unit 3, family planning centre 7, clinic 98, charitable dispensary 3.

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

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