Baro Vatra is a village in Gopalganj District,

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, part of Muksudpur Upazila. The village covers an area of 3.43 km², and is bordered by the villages of Nanikhir, Nawkhanda, Pathorgatha and Banagram. Baro Vatra's main canal is the ''Nawkhanda Khall'' or ''Nanikhir Khall''. The Bil Rout Canal at Jalirpar joins with the main canal, flowing into the river

Padma The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...

. Baro Vatra under Nanikhir Union parishad was established in 1634. The village consists of three wards and five ''mahallas''. The village has a primary school, six mosques, a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

, and three community schools. and a famous Kaliardah Bill. The village is also home to the Nanikhir Union health complex, a

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...

center, and a Nanikhir Government

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

Non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s operating in Baro Vatra include BDAO (the Bangladesh Development Acceleration Organisation), BRAC,

CCDB Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) founded in 1972, immediately after the Bangladesh Liberation War, by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to succeed the Bangladesh Ecumenical Relief and Rehabilitation Services (BERRS). Th ...

ASA ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to: Biology and medicine * Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent * Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin * Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery * Anterior spinal ar ...

World Vision In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

, and HCCB.

History

In May 1971,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i fighter planes attacked the village. with the help of a few

Razakar Razakar (رضا کار) is etymologically an Arabic word which literally means volunteer. The word is also common in Urdu language as a loanword. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, razakar is a pejorative word meaning a traitor or Judas. In Pakista ...

. Two residents were killed and a motor launch was damaged. On 9 August 1971, about 200

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

s in collaboration with the local people liberated Muksudpur. On 12 October 1971 the freedom fighters battled the

Pakistani army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

. In the battle, 22members of the Pakistani army and Razakars were killed. In another direct encounter near Diknagar bridge 30 members of the Pakistani army and three freedom fighters were killed.

Demographics

Baro Vatra has a population of 2500, 58.65% male and 47.35% female, and a population density of 728 per km². The literacy rate among the villagers is 87.80%. The main

occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

of residents of Baro Vatra are: Agriculture (43.09%), Agricultural labourer (23.45%),

wage labor Wage labour (also wage labor in American English), usually referred to as paid work, paid employment, or paid labour, refers to the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer in which the worker sells their labour power under a ...

(2.21%),

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

(10.10%),

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

(7.69%), fishing (1.71%),

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

(1.11%),

hawking Hawking may refer to: People * Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist * Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name) Film * ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Ha ...

(2.32%), construction (1.39%), and 6.93% other.

Agriculture

The main crops grown in Baro Vatra are

paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An List of ethnic slurs#P, ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird ...

, wheat,

jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

, onion, garlic,

betel leaf The betel (''Piper betle'') is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. The betel plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plant ...

, vegetables and sweet potato. Formerly, the village grew linseed, sesame, indigo, china, and kaun, but these are rarely grown anymore. Baro Vatra also produces the fruits mango,

jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...

, papaya,

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

, guava, lemon,

litchi Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the soapberry family, '' Sapindaceae''. It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (the Guangdong, Fujian, ...

, coconut, guava, and banana. There are fisheries, hatcheries, poultry and dairy farms in Baro Vatra. Some fishermen depend on the waters of the Hatashe channel for their livelihood.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Dhaka Division