Pabna Sadar Upazila

Pabna Sadar Upazila (pabna district) area 439.30 sq km, located in between 23°53' and 24°05' north latitudes and in between 89°09' and 89°25' east longitudes. It is bounded by atgharia and ishwardi upazilas on the north, kumarkhali and pangsha upazilas on the south, santhia and sujanagar upazilas on the east, Ishwardi upazila on the west. The only mental hospital (established in 1957) of Bangladesh is located in the town.

Population Total 590914; male 296870, female 294044; Muslim 578365, Hindu 12294, Buddhist 27, Christian 221 and others 7.

Water bodies Main rivers: padma, ichamati.

Administration Pabna Thana was formed in 1872 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
1	10	243	291	144442	446472	1345	76.2	43.0

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
27.27	15	46	144442	5297	76.2

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ataikola 16	9002	22117	21682	38.8
Gayeshpur 51	7935	20272	19305	45.8
Char Tarapur 25	7190	14727	15041	38.1
Dapunia 34	8277	17849	18173	46.6
Dogachhi 43	14604	41557	42458	45.1
Bharara 17	20292	25388	26478	34.5
Malanchi 69	6482	15597	15423	49.1
Maligachha 77	7070	21809	22240	45.8
Sadullahpur 94	8286	16004	15792	34.7
Hemayetpur 60	12687	27511	27049	48.1

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Three domed mosque at Bharara (1176 AH), 'Jor Bangla' Mandir at Raghabpur (eighteenth century), Tarash Bhaban (revenue office of Zamindar Roy Bahadur Banamali), Shitlai Bhaban (homestead of Zamindar Yogendranath Maitra), Zamindar Bari at Dhulai, District Judge Court Building (1884).

War of Liberation Freedom fighters had an encounter with the Pak army on 29 March 1971 at the Telephone Exchange Compound of Pabna Sadar upazila in which 22 Pakistani soldiers were killed. There is a mass grave in the upazila; the Central Shaheed Minar was built at Gopalpur and a memorial monument (Durjoy Pabna) was also built.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 609, temple 120, church 1, sacred place 1. Noted religious institutions: Bharara Mosque, Jor Bangla' Mandir at Raghabpur, Satsangha Ashrama at Hemayetpur.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 51.4%; male 51.7%, female 51.2%. Educational institutions: college 15, secondary school 60, primary school 214, madrasa 37, orphanage 8. Noted educational institutions: Pabna Edward College (1898), Govt. Shaheed Bulbul College, Government Mohila College, Pabna Zila School (1853), Krishnapur Government Girls' High School (1903), GC Institution (1894), RM Academy (1899), Government Girl's High School (1925), Pabna Polytechnic Institute (1891), Radhanagar Majumdar Academy (1899), Central Girls' High School (1926), Jubilee High School (1936), Town Girls' High School (1903), Selim Nazir High School (1924), Pabna Aliya Madrasa (1925).

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Uddag Bidhayani (1863); weekly: Pabna Darpan (1864), Bartabaha (1882), Bramar (1882-83), Usha (1882), Jostna (1900), Pabna-Bagura Hitoishi (1902), Suraj (1919), Rawshan Hedayet (1924), Shahshata Sangbad, Tarjamanul Hadith (1949), Manasi (1950), Pak Hitoishi, Amader Desh (1958), Pabna (1967), Prabaha (1968), Mehanati Kantha (1972); monthly: Arati (1924).

Cultural organisations Library 6, club 81, literary organisation 32, cinema hall 5, theatre stage 1, theatre group 13, community centre 1, shilpakala academy 1, women society 84.

Main sources of income Agriculture 38.77%, non-agricultural labourer 6.04%, industry 5.49%, commerce 17.17%, transport and communication 6.96%, service 10.61%, construction 3%, religious service 0.15%, rent and remittance 1.09% and others 10.72%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 44.68%, landless 55.32%; agricultural landowner: urban 32.27% and rural 50.74%.'

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, sugarcane, mustard, pulse, mulberry tree, chilli, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Barley, china, kaun, bhura.

Main fruits Mango, banana, litchi, papaya, lemon.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 76, dairy 107, poultry 289, nursery 270, hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 341 km, semi-pucca road 43 km, mud road 1211 km; waterway 47 km.

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

Noted manufactories Oil mill, flour mill, rubber mill, cotton mill, textile mill, hosiery mill, pharmaceutical factory, biscuit factory, homeopath laboratory, weaving factory,

Cottage industries Weaving, cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 21, fairs 3, most noted of which are Ataikola Bazar, Dogachhi Bazar, Hemayetpur Bazar, Sadullahpur Bazar, Hajirhat Bazar, Tebunia Bazar, Kashipur Bazar, Dubalia Bazar and Shree Shree Thakur Anukul Chandra Jannmouttosab (birth anniversary) Mela at Hemayetpur.

Main exports Hosiery goods, cotton, cotton fabrics, paddy, pulse, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 73.4% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Sand, Coal have been found in this upazila.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.9%, tap 3.7% and others 2.4%.

Sanitation 71.4% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 25.9% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.7% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Mental hospital 1, hospital 5, upazila health complex 1, health and family planning centre 10, TB hospital 1, diabetic hospital 1, eye hospital 1, community hospital 1, maternity and child welfare centre 1, clinic 28, community clinic 24, school health centre 1, municipal health centre 1, family planning centre 1, satellite clinic 11.

Natural disasters Many people were victims of the famines of 1897, 1898, 1943' and 1974. Besides, the earthquakes of 1885 and 1897 caused heavy damages to settlements and other properties of the upazila. '

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

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