Nagaon
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Nagaon (previously Nowgong, Assamese: নগাঁও) is a medium sized city and a municipal board in Nagaon district in the Indian state of Assam. It is situated 120 kilometres (75 mi) east of Guwahati.
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[edit] Geography
The Kolong River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River, flows through Nagaon and in the process divides the town into two distinct regions: Nagaon and Haibargaon.
Nagaon is bounded on the north by the Sonitpur district and the Brahmaputra River. On the south, it borders the western Karbi Anglong District and Dima Hasao. On the east it is bounded by eastern Karbi Anglong and the Golaghat district, while on the west it neighbours the Marigaon district.
The area of the district is 3993 km2.
There are several beels, marshy areas and swamps in the district, including the regions of Marikalong, Potakalong, Haribhanga, Jongalbalahu, Samoguri Beel, Urigadang and Nawbhanga. These wetlands are former channels of the Kolong and Kopili rivers.
[edit] Transport
Nagaon is well connected to the road system. National Highways 36 and 37 provide easy access to important places in Nagaon District. Buses connect the city with every part of assam.
There are two railway stations in Nagaon, one at Haiborgaon and another at Nagaon proper. The nearest railway junction is at Chaparmukh, which is around 28 km from Nagaon.
The nearest airport is Tezpur Airport. The nearest international airport is Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati.
[edit] Demographics
As of 2011[update] India census,[1] Nagaon city had a population of 147,231. In 2011 the district had a population of 28,26,006.The population is largely of heterogeneous nature.Assamese, Bengali, Marwari communities form the majority.
Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Nagaon has an average literacy rate of 77 percent, higher than the national average of 59.5 percent. Male literacy is 81 percent, and female literacy is 73 percent. In Nagaon, 10 percent of the population is under six years of age.
[edit] Politics
Nagaon is part of the Lok Sabha constituency of Nowgong.[2]
[edit] Education
The entire credit of introduction of modern education in the district goes to Christian missionaries in the nineteenth century, such as Miles Bronson and Nathan Brown. Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, a major figure in Assamese literature, spent the better part of his life in Nagaon, and the Assamese intellectual Gunabhiram Barua worked in Nagaon for about two decades.
[edit] Schools
Nagaon has the oldest school in Assam, Nowgong Mission High School, established by Miles Bronson in 1846. It also has the third oldest government school in Assam, Nowgong Government Boys' Higher Secondary School, established in 1865. Another old school is Dawson Higher Secondary & Multipurpose School.
The city has many schools with instruction in particular languages. Schools in Assamese include Mohendra Barua Lower Primary School, Kalongpar Lower Primary School, Nehru Bidyapith, and Haibargaon Girls' High School. Some schools use Bengali, such as Nowgong Bengali Higher Secondary School and Nowgong Bengali Girls' High school, and in Hindi, including Marwari Girls' High School and Marwari Boys' High School. Among the most prominent English-language schools are Nowgong Mission High School, St. Ignatius Loyola School, Christ Jyoti School, Nagaon English Academy, Little Flower School, and Kendriya Vidyalaya.
[edit] Colleges
At present, there are 25 colleges, of which probably the most renowned is the Nowgong College, located at the heart of the town. Others worth mentioning include A.D.P. College (named after Anandaram Dhekial Phukan), Khagorijan College (named after the old administrative headquarters of Nowgong District), Nowgong Girls' College, Nowgong Law College, and Nagaon G.N.D.G. Commerce College. The College of Fisheries, the only college of its kind in northeastern India, is located in Raha and comes under the academic management of Assam Agricultural University in Jorhat. Nagaon is also home to Nowgong Polytechnic, one of the oldest technical education institutes in Assam, and a Homeopathic Medical College.
[edit] Health
Nagaon has several nursing homes and hospitals with specialized and super-specialized units, including one government-run civil hospital. The hospitals include specialised clinics for diabetes, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, neurology, nephrology, and radiology.
[edit] Notable people
- Dev Kant Baruah, politician
- Mahim Bora, writer
- Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, politician
- Bhabendra Nath Saikia, writer, director, and editor
- Parveen Sultana, classical singer
- Jatin Bora,Actor
- Rockybul Hussain,politician
- Khagen Mahanta,singer
[edit] Sports
The stadium in Nagaon is named after the late Nurul Amin. It hosts the prestigious Independence Day Cup Football tournament every year in August and September, in which most of the teams of national repute participate.
[edit] References
- ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ "List of Parliamentary & Assembly Constituencies". Assam. Election Commission of India. http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S03/AS_ACPC.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
