Panchbibi Upazila

Panchbibi Upazila (joypurhat district) area 311.77 sq km, located in between 25°08' and 25°17' north latitudes and in between 88°56' and 89°13' east longitudes. It is bounded by hakimpur and ghoraghat upazilas and west bengal state of India on the north, joypurhat sadar upazila on the south, gobindaganj and kalai upazilas on the east, Joypurhat Sadar upazila and West Bengal state of India on the west.

Population Total 235568; male 118781, female 116787; Muslim 200925, Hindu 26921, Buddhist 122, Christian 3718 and others 3882. Indigenous communities such as santal, munda and oraon belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: little jamuna, Tulsi Ganga, Harabati.

Administration Panchbibi Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1868.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	8	210	247	22475	213093	756	69.4	53.0

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
9.63	9	14	22475	2334	69.4

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Aolai 10	10530	15456	15385	46.8
Atapur 21	9433	12540	12434	59.4
Aymarasulpur 31	6619	13931	13617	52.2
Kusumba 73	11629	15077	14489	47.4
Dharanji 63	6863	14657	14333	52.3
Bagjana 42	6241	11839	11631	59.1
Balighata 52	6241	11620	11442	62.2
Mohamadpur 84	9531	12378	12264	47.8

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Remnants of the Rajbari at Atapur union, Tomb of Hazrat Abu Jafar Mohammad Nasiruddin Balkhi.

Historical events British goods boycott movement and tebhaga movement were held in Panchbibi under Abdul Kader Chowdhury’s leadership in 1930 and 1946 respectively. The members of the ‘Anushilan Samiti’ led by Abdul Kader Chowdhury and Pran Krishna Chakravorti looted the postal mail bags of the Mail Train at the Hili Station on 27 October 1934. Local members of the Congress and the Communist Party, responding to the call of Mahatma Gandhi, joined in the Quit India Movement in 1942. A full-scale hartal was observed at Panchbibi on 24 February 1952 in protest of police firing and killing of students on 21 February 1952. An education conference organized by maulana abdul hamid khan bhasani was held at Mahipur on 11 December 1967.

War of Liberation In 1971 the All Party Student Front organized a training camp at the Panchbibi Lal Bihari High School. Besides, about 50 to 60 members of the EPR, coming from the Indian Border area, used to give arms training to the students and youths of the upazila. On 20 April the Pak army launched an attack on the Panchbibi Bazar and killed a number of people. They also set many houses on fire. 24 Pak soldiers were killed in a battle with the freedom fighters at Aymarasulpur union of the upazila. In the first week of May the freedom fighters launched a surprise attack on the Pak army patrol team and killed 9 Pak soldiers at Hajipur village. Mass graves have been discovered at three places (Gopalpur, Damdama, Balighata) of the upazila.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 298, temple 8, church 1, tomb 3, sacred place 1. Noted religious institutions: Patharghata Bazar Mosque, Pakuria Mandir, Baran Mandir, Chhatinali Mandir.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 54.6%; male 58.1%, female 51.0%. Educational institutions: college 6, technical school 6, secondary school 49, primary school 96, madrasa 46. Noted educational institutions: Panchbibi Degree College (1994), Mahipur Haji Mohosin Government College (1976), Government LLB High School (1924), Uchai Jerka SC High School (1925), Panchbibi Lal Bihari Government High School (1940), Piara Chhatinali High School (1962), Katowalibag High School (1964), Panchbibi Nasir Mandal Government Girls' High School (1964), Bagjana High School (1966), Mahipur Maulana Bhasani High School (1980), Salaipur High School (1988), Panchbibi Mahabbatpur Aminia Kamil Madrasa (1948), Balighata Alim Madrasa (1976).

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Bangladesh Patrika, Balighata, Panchmatha, Vorer Alo; monthly: 'Ajker Mahua; yearly: Probaho.

Cultural organisations Library 18, club 17, press club 1, cinema hall 5, theatre stage 1, theatre group 1, Bishwa Sahitya Kendra.

Amusement centres Patharghata (meeting place of the Muslim, Hindu and the Christian on the bank of the Tulsi Ganga), residence of Lokhma Chowdhury' (Karia).

Main sources of income Agriculture 72.34%, non-agricultural labourer 2.32%, industry 0.88%, commerce 10.64%, transport and communication 3.23%, service 3.87%, construction 1.01%, religious service 0.15%, rent and remittance 0.09% and others 5.47%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 57.29%, landless 42.71%; agricultural landowner: urban 42.74% and rural 58.68%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, potato, sugarcane, mustard, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Cotton.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, blackberry, pineapple, guava, litchi.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 1, dairy 22, poultry 50, hatchery 3.

Communication facilities Pucca road 103 km, semi-pucca road 7 km, mud road 290 km; railway 14 km.

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

Noted manufactories Flower mill, ice factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, weaving, cane work, bamboo work, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 21, fairs 11, most noted of which are Panchbibi Hat, Malpara Hat, Shirtree Hat, Dharunjee Hat, Bagjana Hat, Barkandi Hat, Chhatinali Hat, Baruni Snan Mela, Panchbibi Mela, Mahipur Mela, Bagjana Mela and Mahish Mardan Mela.

Main exports Jute, Leather.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 41.7% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 94.8%, tap 1.6% and others 3.6%.

Sanitation 57.7% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 26.6% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 15.7% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, union health centre 8, charitable dispensary 1.

Natural disasters The flood of 1995 caused loss of life; it also caused heavy damages to settlements and crops of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha, proshika, Swanirvar Bangladesh, Social development Service. [Shahnaz Parveen]

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