Sibsagar

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

Sivasagar
—  town  —
Rang Ghar (ৰং ঘৰ)
Sivasagar Location of Sivasagar in Assam and India
Coordinates	26°59′N 94°38′E
Country	India
State	Assam
District(s)	Sibsagar
Population	54,482 (2001)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 95 metres (312 ft)
Website	OnlineSivasagar.com

Sivasagar (previously spelled Sibsagar) (Assamese: শিৱসাগৰ Xiwôxagôr) is a town in the Sibsagar district in the state of Assam in India, about 360 kilometres (224 mi) north east of Guwahati. . It is the district headquarters of the Sivasagar district. Sivasagar is a heritage place in Assam famous for the monuments of Ahom kingdom. Now it is a multi-cultural town.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Sibsagar had a population of 54,482. Males constitute 56% of the population and females 44%. Sivasagar has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 79%. In Sibsagar, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Most of the inhabitants of the town are Assamese belonging to Ahom, Assamese Muslims, Assamese Brahmins and other ethnic groups. There are also significant numbers of Marwari and Bihari people living in the town.

History

Carvings on the walls of the Sivadol(িশৱদ'ল)

Joysagar pukhuri(জয়সাগৰ পুখূৰী) in Sibsagar/Sivasagar

Sibsagar, ex Rangpur, was once the capital of the Ahom rulers who dominated Assam for more than 600 years. They ruled Assam virtually uninterrupted for 6 centuries until their kingdom fell to the Burmese in 1819, and their ruling class was all but wiped out. The province was liberated by the British in 1825 but, owing to the state of anarchy which prevailed in the province, it was completely annexed in 1826.

Borpukhuri (বৰপুখূৰী)

Rang Ghar(ৰংঘৰ)

Attractions

Cannons guarding the Talatal Ghar(তলাতল ঘৰ)

View of one of wings of the Talatal Ghar(তলাতল ঘৰ)

Sivadol temple in Sibsagar/Sivasagar

Sivasagar

This city's main feature is the water body from which it gets its name. This is a 257-acre (1.04 km²) tank also called Borpukhuri, at a higher elevation than the rest of the town, with three temples("Dol"s in Assamese) on its banks. Of these temples, the most prominent is the Sivadol, standing tall at 104 feet (32 m), drawing large crowds on Shiv Ratri. The other temples are the Vishnudol and Devidol. The temples were built by Queen Ambika, wife of Swargadeo Siba Singha, in the year 1734.

Siva Temple & Sivsagar Tank

e64

Rang Ghar and Talatal Ghar

Other attractions include the Rang Ghar, the double-storied, oval shaped amphitheatre with a roof which is shaped like an inverted boat, and the seven-storied, Talatal Ghar. The latter is a palace with two secret tunnels and three floors underground. Joysagar, said to be the biggest man-made lake in the country, is spread over 318 acres (1.29 km²) of water on the edge of the town in an area called Rangpur. This lake was built by Swargadeo Rudra Singha in honor of his mother Joymoti.

Ahom Museum

A new addition is the Tai Ahom Museum on the bank of the Sibsagar. It stores artefacts of the rulers, including swords, clothes, manuscripts, goblets and platters. The ancient capital of the Ahoms is Gargaon about 13 km east from Sibsagar, where the major draw is the Kareng Ghar, a seven-storied palace built by 18th century architects. Charideo situated nearby, is another old capital which was built by Sukapha, the founder of the Ahom dynasty. There are maidams or vaults for the king and members of royal families here. Travellers cross the Namdang stone bridge, carved out of a single boulder hundreds of years ago, over which the busy national highway (NH 37) still runs today.

Actually The Sivasagar is the centrel part of Ahom and Bodo Kochary in North-East according to the historical diary.

Transport

Sivasagar is well connected by road with rest of the state.The nearest airports are Jorhat (55 km), Dibrugarh (80 km) and Guwahati (369 km). Hundreds of Buses ply regularly from Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Guwahati. Sibsagar Town is a beautiful town & it also have a railway station. The Dibrugarh - Yesvantpur Express connects this station. The nearest railway station on the Tinsukia-Guwahati sector of North East Frontier Railways is Simaluguri, 16 km from Sibsagar town. Buses ply regularly from Simaluguri towards Sibsagar.It is approximately a half-hour bus ride from Simaluguri town. Taxis are also available for hire . Auto-Rickshaws & other modes of Transports are also available in and around the town.The cheapest one is the three-wheeler vehicles like Tata Magic.

Energy

Assam State Electricity Board (A.S.E.B), Maibella is located to the east of Sivasagar Town. ASEB, Maibella is recently renamed as Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL).

Institutes

• Sibsagar Govt. H.S.& M.P. school

• Sibsagar College :Joysagar

• Sibsagar Girls' College.

• Sibsagar Commerce college

• Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology,Palasani, Govt. of India.This is an Institute of National Importance

• Rajiv Gandhi Cooperative University, Demow Pathar,Joysagar,Govt. of Assam

• Regional Chemical Laboratory, ONGC, Sibsagar, Assam 785 640

• Bir Lachit Borphukon College

Politics

Sivasagar is part of Jorhat (Lok Sabha constituency) Present representative of State assembly is Pranab Gogoi of Congress party .

Gallery

• 

  Plaque at the Talatal Ghar

• 

  A dol in Sivasagar.

• 

  A Night View of Sivadol in Sivasagar.

External links

• http://www.panoramio.com/user/2230455 Some shots around Sivasagar (Sibsagar)
• http://onlinesivasagar.com Complete website dedicated to Sivasagar(Sibsagar)
• http://sivasagar.nic.in Official website of the district
• http://www.dongme.ning.com Official ning network for Jorhat and Sivasagar