Dibrugarh

This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Dibrugarh district.

Dibrugarh ডিব্ৰুগড
—  city  —
Dibrugarh Location of Dibrugarh in Assam and India
Coordinates	27°29′N 95°00′E
Country	India
State	Assam
District(s)	Dibrugarh
Population	13,00,523 (2011)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 94 metres (308 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 786001 • Telephone • +0373 • Vehicle • AS-06
Website	www.dibrugarh.nic.in

Dibrugarh (Assamese: ডিব্ৰুগড় ) is the headquarters of Dibrugarh district, Assam, India, and the second largest city after Guwahati Assam. It is situated on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, about 435 kilometres (270 mi) north-east of Guwahati. It is the gateway to the three tea-producing districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Sibsagar. These three areas account for approximately 50% of India's Assam tea crop and this gives Dibrugarh its rightly earned sobriquet as the "Tea City of India". Oil and timber are the other two big industries in and around Dibrugarh.The district of Dibrugarh with only one sub-division is situated in the eastern part of Assam. The district is surrounded by Dhemaji district and a part of Lakhimpur district in the north, part of Sivasagar district and Arunachal Pradesh in the south, Tinsukia district in the East and Sivasagar dist in the West. The Brahmaputra River flows in the north of the city. The river Brahmaputra flows throughout the North Western boundary of the district. The only tributary falling at Brahmaputra in the district is Buridihing tributary which divided the district from East to West. It touches the town Naharkatia in the East, Khowang in the middle and at the last part of its course forms the boundary line between Dibrugarh and Sibsagar districts. The Dibrugarh district is a plain district of Assam. The entire is flat with gradual slop from the East Arunachal hills to the West. The soil of the district is mostly fertile Alluvial soil and this adjorning with the river Brahmaputra are composed sand and clay in varying proportion.

In 1950, the Medog earthquake measuring over 8.6 on the Richter Scale, changed the course of the Brahmaputra River, and this caused the destruction of more than three quarters of the town. It has since then been rebuilt, but the Brahmaputra River nearby is, as it always has been, a constant reminder to its people that live in its shadow, of its turbulence and all encompassing journey to the sea.

Demographics

A view of sunset from Dibrugarh

As of 2001 India census, Dibrugarh had a population of 61,000 Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Dibrugarh has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82% and, female literacy is 80%. In Dibrugarh, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Economy

Economic activities in the district is dominated by two major industries: oil & natural gas and tea production. It was in Digboi that first oil well was dug during the British era. Duliajan, Hugrijan and Moran are the key locations for oil and gas industry in the district. Duliajan also happens to be the headquarter of the Public Sector Undertaking Oil India Limited.

Apart from this, Dibrugarh district boasts of the highest amount of tea produced in India. There are several tea gardens dating back to the British era.

Dibrugarh is also famous for wood and wood works, plywood factories in Margherita, cane and bamboo furniture, etc. Cottage industries specializing in production of Assam silk (Muga Silk), phulam gamosa (a traditional piece of cloth, used as ornate head-scarf as well as towel), mekhela chador (the famous traditional pure silk dress of Assam state). Chador are also in vogue.

BCPL

The Assam Gas Cracker Project also known as BRAHMAPUTRA CRACKER AND POLYMER LIMITED was proposed as a part of implementation of Assam Accord signed by Government of India on 15 August 1985. The Assam Gas Cracker Project has been approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in its meeting held on 18 April 2006 under an equity arrangement of GAIL (70%), OIL (10%), NRL (10%) and Govt. of Assam (10%) with a project cost of Rs. 5460.61 crores in which capital subsidy is Rs.2138 Crores. The project schedule for completion of the project is 60 months.However the commissioning of the project has been pushed to December 2013 and the cost has escalated to Rs 9,285 crore. The site selected for Assam Gas Cracker Project is at Lepetkata, 15 km from Dibrugarh town on NH37 along river Sessa in Assam. A Joint Venture agreement has been signed on 18.10.2006 and the company 'Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited' was registered on 08.01.2007. Dr. Manmohan Singh, Hon'ble Prime Minister of India laid the foundation stone of this project on 9 April 2007.

Transport

Airport

Mohanbari Airport, which is located around 15 km from the city, is the third busiest airport in Assam after Guwahati and Jorhat. It is connected to the rest of India by airlines such as Air India, Indigo and Jetlite. The Airports Authority of India is planning to make Mohanbari Airport an air hub for the northeastern region, along with Guwahati and Agartala.

Railways

Dibrugarh is shown as one of the easternmost Railway Station on the map of the Indian Railways and is connected to some important Indian cities (Bangalore, Chennai, Trivandrum, Kolkata, Delhi, Kanyakumari etc.) through a direct broad gauge rail network. The Rajdhani-Link Express (An extension of Rajdhani Express) also connects it to New Delhi. The Vivek Express, named after Swami Vivekanda, which connects Dibrugarh with Kanyakumari is now the longest train service in India, covering a distance of 4278 KM in five days. Important trains that run from Dibrugarh are Vivek Express, Rajdhani Link Express, Kamrup Express, Brahmaputra Mail, Egmore Express, Yeshvantpur Express etc. Dibrugarh town railway station is one of the oldest railway station in india. A new railway junction named as New Dibrugarh Railway Junction is being developed on the outskirts of the city at banipur. It is the biggest railway junction in the entire north east spreading over 400 bighas of land and it is 2 kms in length. One goods yard is also being developed for loading an dunloading of goods along with a truck shed, which can accomodate 25 trucks at a time

Higways

NHAI is proposing to make dibrugarh a NHAI hub after the completion of bogibeel bridge. dibrugarh is connected to the rest of india by NH-37. after the completion of bogibeel bridge it will be connected to northern bank of brahmaputra by NH-52(B).A new bye pass is being constructed to ease traffic movement within the city area near jameera. A new flyover is under construction near dibrugarh university area.During 1990s, transportation within the town was largely by buses and rickshaws. Later on auto rickshaws, locally known as "Vikram", were introduced for intra-city transportation. There are long-distance luxury buses plying between important destinations withinin Assam and other neighbouring states.

Dibrugarh also has a developed waterway transportation system. Ferry services link Dibrugarh with many a places in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Education

Assam Medical College

Assam Medical College was formally established on November 3, 1947 at Dibrugarh. It was, however, earlier known as Berry-White School of Medicine, which was founded in 1900. It has the distinction of being the first medical college in the entire North-eastern region of India. Following the establishment of 2 other medical colleges in Assam, one at Guwahati and another at Silchar, it now serves as the tertiary medical referral centre for the entire upper Assam as well as the some areas of neighbouring states, especially Arunachal Pradesh.

The Assam Medical College was established by a personal grant from Dr. John Berry White after he retired as the civil surgeon of Lakhimpur district. The medical school, "John Berry White Medical School" was set up in 1900 at Dibrugarh, and thus this premier institute started its history, and marked a new era in education. Assam Medical College has the pride of having the first Radiology department in India, as in 1910 two X-Ray machine (One 10MA and another 15MA) was bought from England, only 15 years after the discovery of X-Rays by Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen in 1895-96. These two were the first X-Ray machines in India. Berry-White School of Medicine

The college is situated at one corner of Dibrugarh and set in the midst of flowing green fields of several Tea Estates. Some buildings are modifications of the original British architecture, although several new constructions have come up recently under the joint collaboration of both the North Eastern Council and State Government to upgrade the college to a premier medical institution of Asia once again. The main charm that draws almost 150 undergraduate and 50 postgraduate students to this college every year is the campus life it has to offer. 14 hostels for the students ensure that everyone, excluding a minority of day-boarders, stay together within the lavish campus area; consequently everybody knows everybody, if only by face. The campus also contains staff quarters, meaning professors and students are always in close contact.

The college boasts for some of the best teachers of the respective fields. The college is also proud to have some great principals from time to time of which one has also won the Padmashree award.Right now the college has also completed its Diamond jublee celebrations held in November 2007.

Dibrugarh University

Dibrugarh University, the easternmost University of India was set up in 1965 under the provisions of the Dibrugarh University Act, 1965 enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating University with limited residential facilities. The University is situated at Rajabheta at a distance of about five kilometres to the south of the premier town of Dibrugarh in the eastern part of Assam as well as India.Various departments under dibrugarh university are

• Anthropology
• Applied geology
• Assamese
• Chemistry
• Commerce
• Economics
• Education
• English
• History
• life science
• Mathematics
• Petroleum technology
• Pharmaciutical science
• Physics
• Political science
• Sociology
• Statistics

Variuos centers of studies are

• Atmospheric studies
• Bio informatic studies
• Computer science
• Dr. Bhupenhazarika center for performing arts

for details log in http://www.dibru.ac.in

DUIET

A new engineering college, known as Dibrugarh University Institute of Engineering and Technology (DUIET), has been established under Dibrugarh University to promote engineering and technology in in dibrugarh.Dibrugarh University Institute of Engineering & Technology offers its students a B.Tech degree in one of the following departments :

• Computer Science & Engineering
• Electronics & Communication Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Petroleum Engineering

The only mater degree under DUIET is

• M.Tech in petroleum technology

for details log in http://www.duiet.org

RMRC

Regional Medical Research Centre, NE Region is one of the six regional centres of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It covers the most remote and less developed eight states of the north-eastern region of India and is responsible for carrying out Biomedical Research in the region. It was established in 1982 and runs with intramural grant from ICMR and extramural ad hoc projects from different funding agencies.

Dibrugarh Polytechnic is located on the outskirt of the town in Lahoal. It offers courses in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Tea Technology, Information Technology, Electronics & Telecommunications, and Engineering.

An Industrial Training Institute (ITI) is located on western outskirt of the city in Borbaruah.

Schools

• Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya, Dibrugarh
• Little Flower Hr.Secondary School, K C Gogoi Path, Dibrugarh
• Don Bosco school, Convoy Rd, Dibruagrh
• Dibrugarh Railway High School, Kadomoni Dibrugarh
• Swarupananda Vidyapith, Borbari, Dibrugarh
• Naliapool Bengali High School, Naliapool, Dibrugarh
• Victoria Girls School, Dibrugarh
• Bengali High School, Dibrugarh
• St. Mary's school, K C Gogoi Path, Dibrugarh
• St. Xavier's school, Dibrugarh
• Brahmaputra Valley Cadet Academy, Dibrugarh
• Sampoorna Kendra Viyalaya, Dibrugarh.
• Govt. Boy's school, Milan Nagar, Dibrugarh
• Govt. Girl's School, Amolapatty Chariali, Dibrugarh
• Victoria Girl's school, Phool Bagan, Dibrugarh
• Prashanti Divine Valley school, Dibrugarh
• Peace Cottage School, Sheuspur, Dibrugarh
• Model School, Dibrugarh
• Salt Brook School, Amlapatty Chariali, Dibrugarh
• Niranjan High school, Dibrugarh
• Jatiya Bidyalaya, Dibrugarh
• Shishu Niketan, Dibrugarh
• Nirmali Girls High School, Dibrugarh
• Kendriya Vidyalaya, Dinjan
• Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Bamunbari
• Kendriya Vidyalaya, Dibrugarh
• Oil Valley School, Convoy Rd, Dibrugarh
• Shree Agrasen Academy,J halukpara, Dibrugarh

Colleges

• D.H.S.K. College
• D.H.S.K. Commerce College
• Dibru College
• City College
• Gurukul College
• Aniruddha Deva College
• D H S K Law College
• R K B Law College
• C K Hazarika B Ed College
• M G ACADEMY
• Gyan Vigyan Academy
• N E I P C
• SALT BROOK ACADEMY
• M.G.College
• Dr. Radhakrishnan Junior College

Medical Facility

Dibrugarh is also known as the medical city of assam. The first medical college of assam, ASSAM MEDICAL COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL was established in dibrugarh during british era. Formerly it was known as Berry White medical College. Now AMCH is the largest medical college of assam. There is a proposal to establish a nurisng college in the AMCH premises. There are large number of nursing homes and diagnostic centers offering ultra modern medical facilities. Some of the popular nursing homes are listed below.

• 1, Aditya Diagnostic and research center, paltan bazar, dibrugarh
• 2. Dr. Damani's nursing home, bordoloi avenue, dirugar
• 3. Archana trauma and orthopedic reseach center, paltan bazar, dibrugarh
• 4. Sanjivani hospital and research center, paltan bazar, dibrugarh
• 5. Srimanta sankardeb hospital and research center, chokidinghee, dibrugarh
• 6. Malpani nurning home, seujpur, dirugarh
• 7. Sistri nursing home, bordoloi avenue, dibrugarh
• 8. J J memorial hospital and research center, bordoloi avenue, dibrugarh
• 9. vee gee hospital, boiragimath, dibrugarh
• 10. Astha hospital, graham bazar, dibrugarh

Information and broadcasting

Being the oldest city of assam, dibrugarh has well established information and broadcating network. AIR (all india radio) is one of the popular radio staionin the entire upper assam and parts of arunachal. dibrugarh dordarshan of prasar bharati is also broadcating and exposing the local talent to rets of india. a number of newspapersbeing published from this premier city, some of them are

• The Assam Tribune
• The Sentinel
• The Seven Sister's Post
• Asomiya pratidin
• Dainik Bhoomiputra
• Janasadharan
• Ajir Dainik Batori
• Dainik Asom

Places of Interest

Jokai Botanical Garden cum Germplasm Center

Jokai Botanical Garden cum Germplasm Center spread over an area of 1.2 Ha. amidst Jokai Reserve Forest is 12 km from Dibrugarh town on Mancotta-Khamtighat road. Apart from the storehouse of germplasm of some of the valuable and endangered species of flora of this region, the center is a showcase of what this region has in terms of floral biodiversity. The various zones of this center include Orchid house, Medicinal and aromatic plants plot, Rainforest specimen plot, a water pond etc. Added attractions to visit this botanical garden are Elephant ride to have an overview of the richness of Jokai Reserve Forest, a retreat to scenic beauty of Era-suti along northern boundary of Jokai Reserve Forest famous for migratory birds.

The work of developing trekking routes inside Jokai reserve forest and introduction of boating facilities at Era-suti is in progress to ensure that a tourist has a complete date with nature here. http://dibrugarh.nic.in/jokai.htm

Dibru - Saikhowa national park

Dibru - Saikhowa national park is located at about 42 km north of Dibrugarh town of Assam covering an area of 350 sq. km. It lies between 27°30' N to 27°45' N latitude and 95°10' E to 95°45'E longitude at an average altitude of 118 m (range 110-126m). It is also a biosphere reserve. The park bounded is by the Brahmaputra and Lohit rivers in the north and Dibru river in the south. It is situated in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia District of Assam. It mainly consists of wet evergreen forests, tropical moist deciduous forest, canebrakes and grasslands. It is the largest salix swamp forest in north east India. Situated in the flood plains of the Brahmaputra and the Lohit, at an altitude of 118 m above sea level, Dibru-Saikhowa is a safe haven for many endangered species. Due to the auto stocking by the Brahmaputra and Dibru river, it is rich in fish diversity. Dibru Saikhowa has tropical monsoon climate with a hot and wet summer and cool and usually dry winter. The annual rainfall ranges from 2300 mm to 3800 mm. The main rainy months are June, July, August, September. The average coldest and warmest temperature of the area ranges from 7°C to 34°C where June, July and August are the hottest while December and January are the coolest months.

Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuaries

The Sanctuary with an area of 111.19 Sq. Kms. is located in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts and is famous for Assam Valley Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests bordering Arunachal Pradesh. The Sanctuary is a part of the Dehing-Patkai Elephant Reserve having the World War II cemeteries nearby, along with the Stillwell Road and the oldest refinery of Asia in Digboi and ‘open cast’ coal mining at Lido.http://assamforest.in/NP_Sanctuaries/wls_dPatkai.php

Koli Aai Thaan

Koi Aai Thaan is a very famous tourist spot of Dibrugarh, which is dedicated to Koli Aai, the daughter of the head priest of the Dibaru Satra of Assam. It is said that due to the lack of male heir, the satra started disappearing. However, Koli Aai kept the Satra alive by preaching its ideals and principles. It is believed that Koli Aai was bestowed with divine powers and she vanished from the site one day, leaving behind a strong religious hold in the minds of the people.

Namphake Village

At a distance of about 37 km from the township of Dibrugarh, on the banks of the river Burhidihing, is the Namphake village of Assam. A very beautiful Buddhist monastery is located in this area. This monastery is regarded as a meditation center, due to its unique natural settings and serene atmosphere. It also serves as a very famous tourist attraction of Assam. Apart from this, the other attractions of the area are Nong Mungchiringta (Musulinda tank), Ashoka Pillar, Pagoda, and traditional stilt houses.

Naharkatia Town Naharkatia is a town situated in the Dibrugarh district of Assam, which is renowned for its petroleum and gas reserves. The place is especially famous for its tea gardens and is considered to be an important commercial hub of the state. At a short distance from the town lie the historic Jaypur, Tipam and Namrup. Besides this, the oldest oil pool in the state is also located here.

Dehing Namti Satra

Around 8 miles from the town of Naharkatia, on the banks of river Disang (under Sasoni mouza), is the age old Dehing Namti Satra of Assam. The satra was established by Binandashyam Gohain and was initially situated between the roads of Hologuri and Sariyahtoli, in Dibrugarh. The current location of one of the chief wings of the satra is at Namti, in Nazira.

Dinjoy Satra This satra was first established by a prime devotee of Gopal Atadev, Srimanta Aniruddha Dev, in a village of North Lakhimpur. It was later shifted to Khutiaputa, arund the time when the Moamoria rebellion took place. During this period, Astabhuj Gosain was the head of the satra. But after his demise, this religious seat remained vacant for 14 years. Later on, Pitambar Chandra Dev was made the head. The satra fell into trouble once again at the time of Burmese invasion of India. It was finally brought to the present site of Dinjan, about 5 km from the township of Chabua, after peace returned.

Moderkhat Satra Moderkhat Satra is actually an extension of the Dinjoy Satra and was established in the Moderkhat area of the Dibrugarh district. Chandrakantadev was the founder of this monastery. He was the brother of Sidanandadeb Dinjoy, who was the head priest of the Dinjoy Satra of Assam.

Garpara Satra

Garpara satra is older than the Dinjoy Satra itself and is situated in Rohmoria mouza, Assam. The head priest of this satra was Narimaider. In recent times, there has been a proposal of shifting the satra to a new safer location, because of soil erosion at the present site.

Raidangia Dol Raidangia Dol is found in the Kalakhuwa area of Laruah mauza, under the Barbaruah Dev Block of Assam. Established in 700 AD, by Swargodeo Pramatta Singha, the place was originally dedicated to the worship of Lord Vishn. Later on, it became famous as Shiva Col. The dol contains relics of the powerful Ahom Kingdom. Initially, 24 statues were found engraved on the walls of the temple, but now only 14 of them are to be found. There is a large pond situated just adjacent to the temple. It is said that the dol, along with the pond and 200 pura, was given as a dowry when Swargadeo Pramatta Singha married his sister to Raidnogia Barua.http://www.bharatonline.com/assam/dibrugarh/excursions.html

Barbarua Maidam

At a distance of 14 km to the south of Dibrugarh, just adjacent to the NH37, there are two ancient graveyards that were raised to honor two officials of the Ahom Dynasty. Historian Sarbananda Rajkumar believes that these two maidams or graveyards were erected for Bura Dihinigia Barbarua and Deka Dihingia Barbarua. Apart from these, there are several other smaller maidams at the same site, which were constructed to honor other soldiers of the same regime.

Sarumechlow and Bormechow Maidam These two maidams are found in the Lengeri mouza locality of Dibrugarh city and are said to be the graveyards of Sarumechlow and Bormechow, who were the queens of King Sukhampha Khura (1552 – 1611) of the Ahom regime.

Lekai Chetia Maidam This maidam is dedicated to Lekai Chetia, an officer of the Ahom Kingdom, during the term of Swargadeo Pratapsingha. Located in the Sessa area, near Mankata road of the Dibrugarh district, the maidam has now become a revered spot in Assam.

Bahikhowa Maidam The Bahikhowa Maidam is found in the Khowang Tea Estate area of Dibrugarh. This graveyard is dedicated to Bahikhowa Dasarath Dowerah. He was the Chief of the Army staff of Ahoms, during the reign of Swargodeo Rajeswar Singha. Apart from this huge maidam, there are several other smaller maidams located in the nearby places, but all of them are in ruins now.

Dehing Satra The ruins that are seen on the banks of the Dehing River under Larua mouza in present Dibrugarh, was a very famous satra during the rule of the Ahom king Rajeswar Singha. During the famous Moamoria revolution, the satra received royal support from Rajeswar Singha and also from a number of other kings like Lakhi Singha and Gaurinath Singha.

• Dehing Satra
• Dehing Namti Satra
• Dinnjoy Satra
• Moderkhat Satra
• Garpara Satra
• Koli Aai Thaan
• Barbarua Maidam
• Bahikhowa Maidam
• Lekai Chetia Maidam
• Raidongis Dol

Politics

Dibrugarh is part of Dibrugarh (Lok Sabha constituency).

Upcoming projects

1. Asian Development Bank sponsored Solid waste management project in lahoal.
2. Asian Development Bank sponsored Dibrugarh drainage development project.
3. Construction of CISF township.
4. Construction of BCPL township.
5. Proposed ITBP battalion
6. Proposed headquarters for directorate of small tea growers

See also

• Dibrugarh University
• Assam Medical College
• Dibrugarh (Lok Sabha constituency)

References

External links

• Government website
• Dibrugarh University,Dibrugarh-786 004, Assam, India
• Aniruddha Deva College
• GURUKUL, The House of Mentors