Parbatipur Upazila

Parbatipur Upazila (dinajpur district) area of 395.04 sq km,, located in between 25°10' and 25°47' north latitudes and in between 88°49' and 89°06' east longitudes. It bounded by saidpur upazila on the north, phulbari (dinajpur) and nawabganj upazilas on the south, badarganj upazila on the east, chirirbandar upazila on the west.

Population Total 365103; male 183772, female 181331; Muslim 313534, Hindu 46077, Buddhist 110, Christian 2753 and others 2629. Indigenous communities such as santal, oraon and Harijan belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: little jamuna, Chirnai, Kharkhari, Nalsisa; Kanchan Beel, Panch Ratan Beel, Balapara Beel are notable.

Administration Parbatipur Thana was formed in 1800 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
1	10	152	230	39983	325120	924	63.3 (2001)	52.7

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
9.05 (2001)	9	36	29143	3040 (2001)	64.5

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
9.72 (2001)	1	10840	922 (2001)	58.2

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Chandipur 17	9679	14956	14667	49.1
Palashbari 77	11334	22399	20711	58.4
Belaichandi 16	9613	20614	20389	46.1
Manmathapur 51	9603	16279	16418	53.3
Mominpur 60	7872	14276	14492	62.2
Mostafapur 69	8261	14161	13799	64.2
Rampur 86	7990	18365	18609	59.0
Harirampur 43	12228	17263	17000	35.0
Habra 25	9483	15308	15357	58.3
Hamidpur 34	9907	15522	15375	45.6

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Habra Zamindar Bari (built in eighteenth century), Mosque (roof made of china clay, early nineteenth century), Singamari Bhanga Mosque.

Historical events A large number of non-Bengali Muslims coming from India during the Partition of 1947 had settled in Parbatipur; later they formed a very influential community.

War of Liberation During the war of liberation the Pak army in collaboration with the Urdu speaking non-Bengalis killed many Bangalis. On 8 April 1971 the Pak army killed 300 people at Ramkrishnapur, Baghbar and Peadapara on the south of the Kholahat and Badarganj railway lines. Freedom fighters had encounters with Pak army at the railway bridges over the Korotoa river near Kholahati Raileway station and at Shahgram on the south of Vabanipur Railway Station, as well as at Habra, Deul, Maddyapara, Rampur and some other places of the upazila. There is a mass grave at Rahmatnagar. There is a mass grave at Rahamatnagar; three settlements (Ibrahim Nagar, Abbas Nagar, Muzaffar Nagar) were named after three martyred freedom fighters.

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

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 53.9%; male 56.5%, female 51.2%. Educational institutions: college 11, vocational training institute 1, secondary school 70, primary school 105, community school 11, madrasa 39. Noted educational institutions: Parbatipur Degree College (1964), Ganankur Pilot High School (1925), Habra High School (1942), Nurul Huda High School (1951), Mission Primary School (1842), Jurai Fazil Madrasa (1952), Bhabanipur Islamia Kamil Madrasa (1972).

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Manab Barta; weekly: Dinajpurer Kagaj.

Cultural organisations Club 32, women's organisation 1, theatre stage 2, theatre group 7, literary organisation 2, circus party 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 64.09%, non-agricultural labourer 3.52%, industry 0.71%, commerce 14.53%, transport and communication 3.09%, service 8.40%, construction 0.84%, religious service 0.18%, rent and remittance 0.14% and others 4.48%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 47.38%, landless 52.62%; agricultural landowner: urban 42.59% and rural 47.95%.'

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

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, kaun, linseed, betel leaf.

Main fruits Mango, litchi, banana, jackfruit, blackberry, papaya.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Dairy 30, poultry 40.

Communication facilities Pucca road 126 km, Semi-pucca road 5 km, mud road 675 km; railway 85 km. Railway junction 1.

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

Noted manufactories Flour mill, rice mill, ice factory, railway workshop.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 17, fairs 4, most noted of which are Parbatipur Hat, Daglaganj Hat, Bhabanipur Hat, Jamir Hat, Danga Hat, Ambari Hat, Tajnagar Charak Mela, Barapukuria Mela.

Main exports Banana, litchi, blackberry, paddy, rice, wheat.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 38.6% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Coal mine has been discovered in village Barapukuria of Hamidpur Union in 1985 and hard rock mine has been discovered in Maddhapara in 1966-1967.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.1%, tap 1.7% and others 2.2%.

Sanitation 37.8% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 30.2% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 32.0% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, government railway hospital 1, union health and family planning centre 10, union satellite clinic 9, satellite clinic 3.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, caritas, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha. [Ansar Ali Sarker]

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