Bamna Upazila

Bamna Upazila (barguna district) area 101.05 sq km, located in between 22°11' and 22°21' north latitudes and in between 90°00' and 90°07' east longitudes. It is bounded by kanthalia on the north, patharghata and barguna sadar upazilas on the south, Bishkhali river and betagi upazila on the east, mathbaria upazila on the west.

Population Total 79564; male 39438, female 40126; Muslim 73634, Hindu 5907, Buddhist 20 and Christian 3.

Water bodies Main rivers: bishkhali, Amurdon.

Administration Bamna Thana was formed in 1968 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	4	39	49	7744	71820	787	70.5	60.1

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
5.41	2	7744	1431	70.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Dauatala 71	6284	10449	10244	66.1
Bamna 23	5856	3829	3915	59.3
Bukabunia 47	7005	10692	10708	60.5
Ramna 95	5815	8376	9010	58.0

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011,Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

War of Liberation During the war of liberation in 1971 the Pak army set on fire a number of houses of this upazila. The headquarters of a subsector of the sector 9 was at Bukabunia of the upazila. Freedom fighters attacked a launch of the Pak army on the river Amura in November 1971 and detracted the enemies. Bamna upazila was liberated on 23 November 1971. The foundation pillar of Sector 9 of the War of Liberation was established at Bamna.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 240, temple 31, tomb 1, most noted of which is the tomb of Hazrat Khwaja Mohiuddin Hasan Chisti.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 61.1%; male 63.0%, female 59.3%. Educational institutions: college 3, secondary school 11, primary school 48, madrasa 18. Noted educational institutions: Bamna Degree College (1982), Begum Faizunnesa Mahila Degree College (1996), Wazed Ali Khan College, Halta Dauatala Secondary School (1943), Sarwarjan Pilot Secondary School (1944), Asmanunnesa Girl's Secondary School (1966), Bukabunia Ideal Secondary School, Bamna Sadar R Rashid Fazil Madrasa (1987).

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 14, cinema hall 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 65.19%, non-agricultural labourer 4.13%, industry 0.74%, commerce 12.08%, transport and communication 1.82%, service 8.04%, construction 1.29%, religious service 0.27%, rent and remittance 0.1% and others 6.15%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 72.59%, landless 27.31%; agricultural landowner:' urban 66.43% and rural 73.59%.

Main crops Paddy, potato, wheat, corn, peanut, khesari, mug, gram, betel leaf.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sugarcane, tobacco, jute, sesame, linseed.

Main fruits Banana, jackfruit, betel nut, coconut, papaya.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 15, poultry 40.

Communication facilities Pucca road 97 km, semi-pucca road 14 km, mud road 147 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Brick field, welding.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 12, most noted of which are Bamna, Dauatala, Sahebbari bazars; Kholpatua and Bukabunia hats.

Main exports Betel leaf, khesari, banana.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 29.5% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 97.9% and others 2.1%.

Sanitation 83.3% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 15.2% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 1.5% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, union health and family welfare centre 4, satellite clinic 4.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, Sangram. [MA Matin Akanda]

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