Pabna

Pabna is a district of Bangladesh and it is located in Rajshahi Division of north-western Bangladesh. Pabna consists with 15 wards, 34 mahallas and 9 upazillas. Pabna district is bordered by Rajshahi to the south-east, Sirajganj District to the north-east, while the Padma River, main stream of the holy river Ganges, in the south separates it from Rajbari District and Kusthia District. The Jamuna River runs along its eastern border separating it from Manikgonj District and on the north-west it has a common boundary with the Natore District. Main rivers are
Ganges, Ichamati, Gumati and Hurasagar. It has a population of about 145,691. This district produces a lot of fruits in the whole country.

According to the historian Radharaman Saha, Pabna is named after Paboni, a branch of the Ganges. But Archeologist Cunningham conjectured that the name Pabna might be derived from Pundra or Poondrobordhon civilization, whose capital was Mahasthangarh, the oldest city of Bangladesh, in neighboring Bogra. But this hypothesis has not received general acceptance among scholars. He also wrote that the name came from "POTH", a totem folk lived long ago in Poundrabardhan. A survey map from 1850 depicts a Mouza named Padeh Pabna in the Nazirpur Pargana. Mr. Haraprasad Shastri, the renowned author & historian regarded that Pabna originated from Podubomba, a small feudal kingdom, which was established by a king named Shom, during the Pal dynasty period. In 1859-61 the district was one of the major areas involved in the Indigo revolt and in 1875, Raaygonj was transferred back to Pabna from Bogra, and in 1879, a separate judgeship for the districts of Pabna and Bogra was created.

The Pabna has a total population of 145,691 where, male 53.04% and female 46.96% (Muslims 87%, Hindus 12% and other religion 01%). Here the average literacy rate is 59.5%. In this region the main occupations of the people are agriculture 34%, agricultural farm-hands 22.77%, wage laborer 4.46%, transport 2.18%, weavers 2.85%, commerce 13.27%, service 7.26% and others 13.21%. Paddy, jute, wheat, sugarcane, oil seeds, onion, garlic, betel leaf, pulses are the main crops in this region and main fruits are Mango, jackfruit, banana, lychee (generally known as lichu), cocoanut, guava and papaya. Main exports are Rice, jute, betel leaf, hosiery goods, cotton, and cotton fabrics. Pabna is also the place for growing various types of flowers.

Economical environment in the Pabna is better than any other region. The rural economy of Pabna is agriculture. But many small and medium industries and mills are increasing day by day. Now Pabna has a lot of mills include- Paksey paper mill, saw mill, sugar mill, jute press, edible oil mill, rice and flour mill, Square (Bangladesh) pharmaceutical company, biscuit factory, cotton mill, ice factory, welding, cold storage etc. The Square (Bangladesh) Group established several factories in the district, namely pharmaceuticals, spices, food, toiletries and textile, and converting the agricultural economy of Pabna to an industrial society. Pabna has also 1129 Dairies, 102 fisheries, 749 poultry and 42 hatcheries.

Pabna has a very good transport system with links to all the districts of Bangladesh. The main transport system in the city is train, buses, mini buses, cars and rickshaws. Pabna is well connected by highways, waterways and railways links to north-western Bangladesh and capital city Dhaka, as well as other parts of Rajshahi, Khulna, Rangpur, Chittagong, Barisal, Sylhet and the whole country. The traditional paalkee (sedans), tomtom (horse carriages) and gorur gaari (bullock carts) are now going out of the fashion. The Nochhimon and Korimon, homemade mechanical hauler using irrigation pumps as main engine, are mainly used for transporting agricultural goods and rural folks. Inexpensive Chinese auto bikes (tricycle) are getting popularity as urban transport. Hardinge Bridge and Lalon Shah Bridge over the Padma linked Pabna with Kusthia District as well as Khulna Division and the southern Bangladesh. There is an airport at Ishwardi Upazilla which has twice weekly air services to Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka by Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Government owned Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTC) provides bus services to Rajshahi and Bogra cities. Besides this, many different companies bus are also available.

Pabna has also huge educational facility. There are 39 colleges, a cadet college, a law college, a government vocational training institute, a government commerce college, a government polytechnic institute, a textiles college, a teachers' training college, a primary teacher's training institute, a nursing training institute, a homeopathic college, 232 high schools, 32 junior high schools, a Aliya Madrassa, 268 kaomi Madrassa (seminary), 667 government primary schools, 445 non-government primary schools, 9 community schools, 41 kindergartens, 32 satellite schools, 299 NGO-operated schools, and a music college. Notable educational institutions are: Pabna Edward College (1898), Pabna Textile Engineering College (2008), Pabna University of Science and Technology (2008), Pabna Medical College (2008), Govt. Shahid bulbul College, Pabna Cadet College, Gopal Chondro Institution (GCI) (1894), Pabna Zilla School (1853), RM Academy (1899), Polytechnic Institute (1891), Shahid Fazlul Haque Municipal High School (1967), Pabna Town Girls High School(1903), Aliya Madrassa (1925), Debottor (Atgharia) Government Primary School (1880), MC Jubilee High School (1936), Varenga (Bera) Academy (1835), Bera High School (1906), Bera B B High School (1899), Khalilpur (Sujanagar) High School (1901), Dhobkhola Coronation High School (1906), Banwarinogor (Faridpur) CB Pilot High School (1912), Shara (Ishwardi) Marwari School (1917).

Pabna has a General Hospital and a Mental Hospital at Pabna. There is a 250 bed government general hospital here and a 450-bed mental hospital, second oldest in Indian subcontinent, only after Ranchi Mental Hospital, Jharkhand, India. Pabna Mental hospital, Pabna and Pabna Medical College and Hospital are built on land donated by Lord Thakur Anukulchandra at Hemayetpur. The nine thanas of the district hold an Upazilla health complex each. For better treatment people need to go to medical college and other tertiary hospitals in Rajshahi or Dhaka.

Pabna has also some tourist attraction for its natural beauty. Paksey is a popular green area and Chalan Beel (in the north) is another popular area. Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore had a koothibari (villa) at Shilaidoho, where his birth anniversary is celebrated regularly. The national poet of Bangladesh Kazi Nazrul Islam also visited this area. Idyllic Poddar Par (the bank of the Padma) at Shilaidoho Ghaat is 5 km south of town's old Technical Institute, where people can enjoy a river cruise. The railway colony of Paksey has many old trees and is beside the river Padma, the Hardinge Bridge and the newly built Lalon Shah Bridge are also popular area.

Suchitra Sen is the most notable person in Pabna. Besides this, Bappa Mozumdar, Asif hossain Khan, Air vice Marshal, Ostad Baarin Mozumdar, Bonde Ali Miah and Sanjib shaha Aniketa etc. are notable person in this region.

If you want to know more about Pabna, please visit: Pabna Government Web Portal.