Barura Upazila

Barura Upazila (comilla district) area 241.65 sq km, located in between 23'14' and 23'37' north latitudes and in between 90'56' and 91'08' east longitudes. It is bounded by comilla adarsha sadar and chandina upazilas on the north, laksham and shahrasti upazilas on the south, comilla sadar dakshin and Laksam upazilas on the east, Chandina and kachua (chandpur) upazilas on the west. Some part of Lalmai hills are at the east corner of this upazila.

Population Total 351086; male 174242, female 176844; Muslim 323807, Hindu 26803, Buddhist 18, Christian 403 and others 55.

Water bodies Carzon Khal (canal) is notable.

Administration Barura Thana was formed in 1948 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983. It was turned into a municipality in 1995.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	14	231	313	40335	310751	1453	44.55	44.97

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
23.12	9	26	40335	1745	44.55

Union
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Aganagar 18	4104	10924	10919	48.28
Adda 11	4147	11264	11840	56.99
Adra 12	3902	10533	11422	48.64
Uttar Khosbas 63	3001	14291	13803	39.61
Dakshin Khosbas 69	4080	9297	9316	42.65
Galimpur 44	8455	19923	20497	44.73
Chitadda 50	3316	9458	9438	34.40
Jalam 56	3657	11015	11071	44.28
Deora 37	2126	5456	5418	38.97
Payalgachha 75	4243	10597	11046	49.03
Bhabanipur 25	3403	10922	10899	40.22
Lakshmipur 82	3319	9461	10078	50.66
Uttar Shilmuri 88	2604	8815	8555	44.48
Dakshin Shilmuri 94	4221	11863	12630	43.23

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Mosque and Mazar at Adinamura, Chandimata Mandir (located on the hill top of Lalmai Hill), Moir Dighi at village Bashpur.

History of the War of Liberation On 2 September 1971, the Pak army attacked the camp of the freedom fighters of the upazila. On the same day the Pak army entered into the village and killed 6 innocent persons; they also conducted plundering and set many houses on fire. Five freedom fighters were killed in an encounter with the Pak army on 10 September at Payalgachha Battali.

Marks of the War of Liberation Mass grave 1 (Narayanpur).

Religious institutions Mosque 512, temple 100, church 1. Noted religious institutions: Barura Jami Mosque, Galimpur Jami Mosque, Adinamura Mosque, Abdul Hamid Shah (R) Tomb at Maheshpur, Barura Central Eidgah, Chandimatas' Mandir.'

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 44.92%; Male 47.35%, female 42.60%. Educational institutions: college 7, technical college 1, secondary school 36, primary school 249, madrasa 29. Noted educational institutions: Payalgachha Post-Graduate College, Barura Shahid Smriti Govt. College (1972), Galimpur TC High School (1914), Joynagar Scheduled Cast High School (1917), Bataichhari High School (1929), Talagram TC Laha Multilateral High School (1931), Barura Hazi Nawab Ali Pilot High School (1967), Panchthubi Ahmadia Fazil Madrasa (1860), Bataichhari Dakhil Madrasa (1911), Khalarpar Wajedia Fazil Madrasa (1967), Rajamara Sunnia Madrasa (1921), Baruar Alia Madrasa.

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Telephone, Barura kantha; defunct: Abahan.

Cultural organisations Club 31, library 3, theatre group 1, community centre 2.

Main sources of income Agriculture 55.08%, non-agricultural labourer 2.86%, commerce 11.21%, transport and communication 3.78%, service 8.90%, construction 1.39%, religious service' 0.40%, rent and remittance 7.17% and others 9.21%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 66.44%, landless 33.56%; agricultural landowner: urban' 61.62% and rural 67.07%.

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

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, linseed.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, coconut, plum, watermelon, palm.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries This upazila has a number of fisheries, dairies and poultries.

Communication facilities Pucca road 175 km, mud road 205 km; railways 1 km; helipad 1; bridge and culvert 850.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Manufactories Rice mill, flour mill, ice factory, brick-field, welding factory.

Cottage industries Weaving, jute industries, silk industries, wood work, bamboo work, cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 42, fairs 7, most noted of which are Barura, Rammohan, Jhalam, Fakir, Khosbas, Maheshpur, Adra, Haripur, Chandimura, Amratali, Payalgachha, Aganagar hats and Chandimura, Shahapur, Lakshmipur, Rammohan melas.

Main exports Betel leaf, paddy, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 33.77% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.79%, tap 0.71%, pond 0.54% and others 4.97%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube well of this upazila.

Sanitation 62.24% (rural 62.90% and urban 57.19%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 23.33% (urban 22.91% and rural 26.56%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 14.43% of households do not have latrines facilities.

Health centres 'Upazila health complex 1, family welfare centre 15, satellite clinic 5, satellite family planning centre 5, community clinic 19, charitable hospital 5, clinic 1.

Natural disasters The tidal bore and cyclone of 1974 caused loss of life and damage to settlements, livestock and properties. Besides, the floods of 1998 and 2004 caused heavy damage to livestock and properties.

NGO activities brac, asa, proshika, Rural Development Organisation, CARE. [AKM Jasim Uddin]

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