Dumuria Upazila

Dumuria Upazila (khulna district) area 454.23 sq km, located in between 22°39' and 22°56' north latitudes and in between 89°15' and 89°32' east longitudes. It is bounded by manirampur, abhaynagar and phultala upazilas on the north, batiaghata and paikgachha upazilas on the south, khan jahan ali, khalishpur and sonadanga thanas and Batiaghata upazila on the east, tala and keshabpur upazilas on the west.

Population Total 305675; male 153111, female 152564; Muslim 188619, Hindu 116451, Buddhist 9, Christian 339 and others 257.

Water bodies Main rivers: Shibsa and Singrail; beel dakatia is notable.

Administration Dumuria Thana was formed on 25 March, 1918 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
- 14 205 241 19828 285847 673 53.8 52.5
Upazila Town

Area
(sq km)

Mouza

Population

Density
(per sq km)

Literacy rate
(%)

6.92 4 19828 2865 53.8
Union
Name of union and GO code Area (acre) Population Literacy rate (%)
Male Female
Atlia 06 9220 16469 15767 55.3
Kharnia 40 5160 10314 10271 52.7
Gutudia 33 14120 13324 12819 51.3
Dumuria 27 4624 14728 14514 54.7
Dhamalia 20 5753 10993 11247 47.0
Bhandar Para 13 8726 8397 8352 51.4
Magurkhali 47 9911 6880 7011 58.6
Maguraghona 54 4891 11622 11493 45.9
Rangpur 67 8960 9104 8949 58.4
Raghunathpur 61 8764 12791 13026 58.2
Rudaghara 74 7100 11490 11658 52.7
Sarappur 88 5615 7936 8165 49.6
Sobhana 94 10972 9783 9925 52.7
Sahas 81 6172 9280 9367 46.1

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Chechuri Neel Kuthi, Chuknagar Neel Kuthi, Dakbangalow at Madhugram.

Historical events tebhaga movement was organised in 1948 at villages Shovana, Dhanibunia, Kanaidanga, Orabunia and Bakultala.

War of Liberation During the war of liberation, the Pakistan army raided the village Kalitalapara in April 1971 and many Bangalis, including Profullo Kumar Biswas, Indubhushan, Lalchand, Amullya, Mahendra, Raicharan, Nihar and Ratan were killed. Fourteen members of the allied forces were killed in a direct encounter between the Pak army and the freedom fighters and allied forces at Shalua Bazaar. In the initial months of the War of Liberation, Chuknagar formed a transit point for Bangali refugees fleeing to India in the face of atrocities by the Pakistan army. On 20 May 1971, Pakistani soldiers killed thousands of refugees gathered at the village. The day is mourned every year as the Chuknagar Mass Killing Day. Freedom fighters had encounters with Pak army at many places of Dumuria and two prominent encounters were that at Shalua Bazar and Gabtala of Shovana.

For details: See ডুমুরিয়া উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation Bangla Version), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৪।

Religious institutions Mosque 237, temple 132, church 4. Noted religious institutions: Arashnagar Mosque, Dumuria Kali Mandir, Delbhita Durga Mandir, Taltala Math, Prahlad Ashrama.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 52.6%; male 57.4%, female 47.7%. Educational institutions: college 8, secondary school 50, primary school 199, madrasa 28. Noted educational institutions: Shahpur Madhugram College (1969), Anukul Chandra Sanskrit College (1976), Dumuria College (1983), Raghunathpur Secondary School (1880), Madhugram Senior Madrasa (1928).

Newspapers and periodicals Purushottamduti, Padatik, Sabuj Patra (1965), Sangbartak (1971), Shatabdir Dak (1972),

Main sources of income Agriculture 65.43%, non-agricultural labourer 3.08%, commerce 14.05%, transport and communication 5.51%, service 5.54%, construction 0.88%, religious service 0.16%, rent and remittance 0.10% and others 5.25%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 69.36%, landless 30.64%. Agricultural landowner: urban 42.14% and rural 71%.'

Main crops Paddy, jute, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, coconut, betel nut.

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Hatchery 5, fishery 15100, poultry 255, dairy 89.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 129 km, semi-pucca 207 km, mud road 731 km.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill, flour mill, oil mill, pulse mill, ice factory, bidi factory.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Dumuria, Shahpur, Chuknagar, Kharnia, Atharomile and Madartala Hats;' Baishakhi, Chaitra Samkranti' and Balaisadur Melas are notable.

Main exports Paddy, rice, betel nut, molasses, prawn, mango, jackfruit, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 69.8% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 99.9% and tap 0.1%.

Sanitation 81.8% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 13.6% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 4.6% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex, hospital, clinic, health and family welfare centre.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, Prodipan, asa, proshika, NIJERA KARI, caritas, CSS, CARE, Progoti. [Sandipak Mallik]

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