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*'''[[Bongaigaon Refinery HS School]]''', Dhaligaon (previously '''BRPL Vidyalaya''')
*'''[[Bongaigaon Refinery HS School]]''', Dhaligaon (previously '''BRPL Vidyalaya''')
*Birjhora Higher Secondary School
*Birjhora Higher Secondary School
*Bongaigaon Railway Higher Secondary School
'''[[Bongaigaon Railway Higher Secondary School]]'''
*DPS Dhaligaon
*DPS Dhaligaon
*KV New Bongaigaon
*KV New Bongaigaon

Revision as of 18:12, 25 November 2013

Bongaigaon City
বঙাইগাঁও মহানগৰ
Mega city
Night view of AOC Road (Skyline), night view of Bir Chilarai Flyover, Bongaigaon City, Road view inside of Bongaigaon City, view of Bongaigaon Refinery HS School, view of Naranarayan Setu
Night view of AOC Road (Skyline), night view of Bir Chilarai Flyover, Bongaigaon City, Road view inside of Bongaigaon City, view of Bongaigaon Refinery HS School, view of Naranarayan Setu
Nickname: 
City of Technology
Country India
StateAssam
RegionWestern Assam
DistrictBongaigaon
Area
 • Total1,724 km2 (666 sq mi)
Elevation
54 m (177 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total100,639
 • Rank117 city in India
 • Density58/km2 (150/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialAssamese, English, Bodo
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
783380
Telephone code03664-
Vehicle registrationAs-19-X-XXXX
Sex ratio961 per 1000 male (Census 2011) /
Websitebongaigaon.nic.in

Bongaigaon (Pron: ˈbɒŋgaɪˌgãʊ) (Assamese: বঙাইগাওঁ) is one of major cities of the Indian state Assam. It is third largest city of Assam. The city is the administrative headquarters and municipal board of Bongaigaon District, Assam, India. It was the last capital of the Kamatapur Kingdom and home to many historical monuments of Assamese culture. The city, divided into two parts - Old Bongaigaon and New Bongaigaon, is situated 180 kilometres (112 mi) north west of Guwahati. To meet the demands of Bodos of Assam, Bongaigaon was recently carved up to give way for Chirang district. Bongaigaon has a major petrochemical industry, the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL BGR).

The city today has evolved to be one of the major commercial and business hubs of the state with growing numbers of shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, residential apartments and educational institutions. The city also serves as the base for tourism to famous places such as the Manas National Park. Centrally located within the state, the city depicts a vibrant Assamese township and culture, making it one of the most preferred places for local people to conglomerate.

History

Creation of Bongaigaon

The decision of the Government of Assam was taken in 1989, to create a new District of Bongaigaon curving out some areas of the Goalpara and Kokrajhar District with its headquarter located at Bongaigaon. On 29 September 1989, the creation of Bongaigaon District was declared by the Government of Assam with its headquarter at Bongaigaon. In 2005 Government of Assam declared Bongaigaon town as a city.

Background

The original Goalpara district was first created in 1822 A.D. by David Scott- an employee of East India Company, who was the first Commissioner of newly created North East Rangpur district Hd. Qr. at Rangpur town (now in Bangla Desh) and newly created Goalpara district was also tagged with North-East Rangpur district for administration. The erstwhile Bijni Kingdom's area which included the undivided Garo Hills district area also constituted the original Goalpara district area in 1822. In 1866 Garo Hills was separated from Goalpara district area and in the same year a new district named "Greater Koch Behar" was created and the residual portion of Goalpara district was withdrawn from Rangpur and tagged with Koch Behar. In 1874 a new province named Assam Valley Province was created by British Govt. (Successor of East India Company) and Goalpara district area was withdrawn from Koch Behar and tagged with Assam Province which continues till today unless petty political gambling disturbs. Now the original Goalpara district has given birth of five districts namely (i) Goalpara (ii) Dhubri (iii) Kokrajhar (iv) Bongaigaon and (v) Chirang.

Hitherto referred, Bijni Kingdom was first establishment by Koch Rajbongshi King Maharaj Bijit Narayan alias Chandra Narayan in 1671 comprising the area of undivided Goalpara district. Maharaj Chandra Narayan was the son of Parikshit Narayan who was the grandson of Yuvaraj Sukladhwaj alias Prince Chilarai, the world hero (1510-1571 AD). He was the younger brother of Maharaj Naranarayan, the great emperor of Kamrup Rajya alias Kamata Empire alias Koch Empire of 16th century. The first capital of Bijni Kingdom was at modern "Bijni" town from 1671 to 1864 and thereafter shifted to Dumuria (now known as Dalan Bhanga) due to attack by Jhawlia Mech - a local chief under Bhutan Kingdom. The big and dreaded earthquake occurred at 5 PM, on 12 June/1897 badly damaged the royal palaces of Dumuriya caused the shifting of the Capital temporarily to Jogighopa and thereafter permanently shifted to Deohati forest area now known as Abhayapuri named after Rani Abhayeswari in 1901, which continued up to 1956 when Govt. of India took over this Rajbongshi Kingdom. At present Bongaigaon district is having three Civil Sub-Divisions, namely (1) Bongaigaon with Hd. Qr. at Bongaigaon (2) North Salmara with Hd. Qr. at Abhayapuri town and (3) Bijni with Hd. Qr. at Bijni town.90% area of Bongaigaon district belonged to erstwhile Bijni Kingdom and 10% area from Sidli Kingdom and it is ruled by KochRajbongshi Kings, Raja Bhairabendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur and Raja Ajit Narayan Dev were the last kings of Bijni and Sidli Kingdoms respectively.Joy Narayan, Shiv Narayan, Bijoy Narayan, Mukunda Narayan, Haridev Narayan,Indra Narayan,Amrit Narayan. Kumud Narayan and Rani Abhayeswari were the Kings and queen in between the founder king Chandra Narayan and the last king Bhairabendra Narayan of Bijni Kingdom.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bongaigaon

The Bongaigaon Refinery is the eighth largest refinery of Indian Oil. Formed upon the amalgamation of Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (BRPL) with IndianOil on March 25. 2009, Bongaigaon refinery is situated at Dhaligaon in Chirang district of Assam, 200 km west of Guwahati.

Bongaigaon Refinery Main Gate side of National Highway No. 31 (A1)

It two Crude Distillation Units (CDU), two Delayed Coker Units (DCU) and a Coke Calcination Unit (CCU) with a processing capacity of 2.35 MMTPA of crude oil. The first CDU with a capacity of 1 MMTPA was commissioned in the year 1979. The capacity was further increased to 1.35 MMTPA in 1986. An LPG Bottling Plant with a capacity of 44,000 MTPA was also commissioned in the year 2003.

Presently the refinery produces a wide range of petroleum products namely LPG, Naphtha, MS, SKO, HSD, LDO, LSHS, LVFO, RPC, CPC, Needle coke and solvents (Petrosol and Bonmex-II) by processing Assam Crude and Ravva Crude (from the Ravva oil fields of Krishna Godavari Basin). Bongaigaon refinery has also undertaken special endeavours towards environment protection and conservation. The refinery has developed an ecological park and a pond surrounding it containing 65,000 cubic meter of water, through which the storm water drains of the plant are routed for final discharge. Another natural pond with a capacity of 30,000 cubic meter of water has developed into an environment-friendly park-cum-pond for migratory birds. In addition, a rain water harvesting system has been installed in the Bongaigaon township complex and the installation of solar water heating systems (SWHS) and solar photovoltaic systems (streetlights) is underway.

In recognition of its green initiatives, Bongaigaon refinery has been a recipient of numerous prestigious awards, the latest being the National Award for "Prevention of Pollution" from the Ministry of Environment and Forests on September 16, 2010. The award acknowledges the Refinery’s outstanding contribution in environmental conservation and creating environmental awareness in the Bodo Territorial Autonomous District region of Assam, which is predominantly a tribal dominated area. Bongaigoan Refinery is the country’s first oil Refinery to have won this coveted honour. Last year the Refinery was honoured with the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puruskar by the Ministry of Environment, as well as the 'Greentech Environment Excellence Gold Award 2008' and the 'Indira Gandhi Paryavarn Puraskar 2006' for its outstanding environment performance.

Bongaigaon Refinery Township (BGR Township)

BGR Township is an quarter campus of the employes of IOCL BGR. The town is located in Dhaligaon near Bongaigaon Refinery. In the township there are two schools one is BGR HS School and another is DPS Dhaigaon. There are two luxuries guest houses here, These are:

  • Manas Guest House
  • Deosri Guest House
  • Manjira House

There are also three clubs here, these are:

  • RCCC Club & Auditorium
  • Champa Club & Play Hub
Evening view of BGR Township Gate No. 2

Entertainment

In the city there is a Movie theater (Cinema Hall) in the city. The Cinema Hall is located in one of major areas of the city is Mayapuri. The name of the cinema hall is Mayapuri Cinema. Prakash Cinema which is situated in the north part of the town has been closed down.

City square

Mayapuri is the middle place of this city. There is a square around Mayapuri, this is called city square of Bongaigaon City. In the square area here is many shopping malls and others markets. The best Shopping malls of Bongaigaon:

  • Shivali Market
  • Noor Market
  • Prakash Mega Mart
  • Millan Shoppe
  • Meghraaj Shoppe
  • Sharma Store
  • Sri Karni Store
  • Jhon Players , Mayapuri (City Square)
  • Adidas Showroom , Chapaguri Road, North Bongaigaon

There are many dealers of electronic products like LG, Samsung, Videocon, Nokia, Micromax etc.

Fly Overs

Bongaigoan had one fly over crossing rail road between the stations Bongaigaon (old) and New Bongaigaon railway station. The name of the fly over bridge is Bir Chilarai Flyover, Bongaigaon City. The over bridge is very designable, this bridge control all taffic of the mega city.

Bir Chilarai Flyover, City Square, Bongaigaon (Night View)

The People

From the chequered historical background of this district, it can easily be surmised that the entire area was ruled by Kings/Zaminders/Feudal Lords hailing from the Koch-Rajbongshies belonging to Indo-Mongoloid ethnic group of peoples right from 15th century to the end of princely states in 1956 A.D. The kings of this area had their hoary past and can be traced back to the "Kiratees" of epic age (Mahabharata fame) that is pre-vedic age. These Kiratees of dimpast are also mentioned in Kalika Puran and Jogingi Tantra and also in histories written both by native and foreign schoolers.

Socio-cultural spectrum

Apart from prevalent common environment in the erstwhile Bijni Kingdom and undivided Goalpara district of 1822, the most striking factors of Bongaigaon district are the Hilly Caves (Gumphas) and stone carvings of Jogighopa hill-rocks demonstrating the existence of Buddhist culture. The hills and the hilly rocks, the rivers, natural and man made ponds, the deep forest, the trees, plants and the bushes.

A park at Bongaigaon

Geography

Bongaigaon is located at 26°28′N 90°34′E / 26.47°N 90.57°E / 26.47; 90.57.[1] It has an average elevation of 54 metres (177 feet).

Demography

As of 2011 India census,[2] Bongaigaon district had a population of 732639 with 373590 males and 359049 females. Hinduism is the major religion in the district. Bongaigaon has an average literacy rate of 70.44%.with male literacy of 75.48% and female literacy of 65.18%.

The majority of the population of Bongaigaon are Bengalis followed by Koch-Rajbongshis, Bodo, Rabha, Garo, Mech etc. Bodo group of people and migrant general Assamese people of adjacent districts. Besides these, Marwaris have recently setteld in and around the township. The Bengalis are mostly settled in North Bongaigaon and the Railway colonies. Palpara, Salbari, Natunpara, Bakhervita are the Bengali dominated areas by and large of Bangladeshi origin who were facilitated to settle by subsequent Congress Chief Ministers of Assam like Gopinath Bordoloi, M.M. Choudhury, Bimala Prasad Chaliha, Sarat Singha etc. thereby increasing the population substantially in the commercial place.

Most of the residents are dominated farmers. Others are mostly in service.

Natural resource base

The district falls under Brahmaputra river basin.[3] The district has large reservoir of water resources with the river Brahmaputra and its two tributaries of Ai and Manas. The soil type is generally sandy to sandy loam with alluvial deposits. Among the 15 agro-climatic regions of the country, categorized/identified on the basis of homogeneity in agro-characteristics, Bongaigaon falls in the Lower Brahmaputra Valley zone. The agro climatic conditions of the district are conducive for various agricultural activities. The topography of the district represents mostly plain lands except a small portion of isolated hills in Bijni sub-division, bordering Bhutan. The district is drained by the Brahmaputra on the south and two of its major tributaries viz. Ai & Manas flowing from the north to south. About 72 percent of normal rainfall is received during May to August. Agriculture in the district is characterized by over dependence on rainfall, predominance of seasonal crops and traditional methods of cultivation. The forest cover in the district is estimated to be 56598 hectares i.e. 22.6 percent of its total geographical area as per the estimates of Forest Statistics of Assam 2005. The Manas National Park is a wildlife forest reserve which lies in the northern part of the district.

Climate

Climate data for Bongaigaon
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 30
(86)
33
(91)
38
(100)
40
(104)
38
(100)
40
(104)
37
(99)
37
(99)
37
(99)
35
(95)
32
(90)
28
(82)
40
(104)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 23
(73)
25
(77)
30
(86)
31
(88)
31
(88)
31
(88)
32
(90)
32
(90)
31
(88)
30
(86)
27
(81)
24
(75)
29
(84)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 10
(50)
12
(54)
15
(59)
20
(68)
22
(72)
25
(77)
25
(77)
25
(77)
24
(75)
21
(70)
16
(61)
11
(52)
19
(66)
Record low °C (°F) 5
(41)
6
(43)
6
(43)
11
(52)
16
(61)
18
(64)
20
(68)
21
(70)
20
(68)
15
(59)
10
(50)
5
(41)
5
(41)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 11.4
(0.45)
12.8
(0.50)
57.7
(2.27)
142.3
(5.60)
248.0
(9.76)
350.1
(13.78)
353.6
(13.92)
269.9
(10.63)
166.2
(6.54)
79.2
(3.12)
19.4
(0.76)
5.1
(0.20)
1,717.7
(67.63)
Source: wunderground.com[4]

Transport

Air: The nearest domestic and international airports is Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati.It is about 165 km from Bongaigaon.

Railways

Bongaigaon falls under the Northeast Frontier Railway zone of the Indian Railways.There are two stations in Bongaigaon - New Bongaigaon railway station (2nd largest railway junction of Assam state) and Bongaigaon (old) station. Major trains serving Bongaigaon with major cities are Guwahati Rajdhani Express, Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express, Saraighat Express, Brahmaputra Mail, North-East Express, Guwahati Bangalore Express, Guwahati Ernakulam Express, Kamrup Express. It is the largest station in Western Assam after Guwahati. According to 2012 budget, New Bongaigaon Jn. is considered to be the Adarsh Station of India.

Biodiversity Special train name Science Express stands on platform of New Bongaigaon Railway Junction
Dibrugrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express on the platfrom no.3 of New BNGN Jn. Station

Roadways

National Highway 31 connects Bongaigaon with the states Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. National Highway 37 via Naranarayan Setu from Goalpara in Assam to Dimapur in Nagaland traverses the entire length of Assam and connects Bongaigaon with almost all the major cities of Assam including the cities of Jorhat and Dibrugarh. National Highway 31C connects Bongaigaon To Guwahati and National Highway 37 also connects Bongaigaon with Guwahati. There are many Bus Terminal like -ASTC Bongaigaon, Barpara Private, Chapaguri Bus Stand. There are many buses which connects Bongaigaon with major cities of Assam like Mangaldai Dhubri, Barpeta, Tezpur, Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Siliguri, Cooch Behar and Guwahati etc.

Chilarai Indoor Stadium

Media

The healthy educational and cultural life of Bongaigaon city can be best judged from the fact that the city has established daily Newspapers, Local Newspaper:

Facebook Media

Bongaigaon city controlled a community of Facebook. The name of the community is Assamese Film and Culture official link of the page. This community share every updates related to Cinema of Assam, Assamese Culture and others. LIKE the community by go to the given link and you will get updates from the community on your Facebook account. The admin of the page is Simanta Kalita

Sports

Bongaigaon has a new indoor stadium in Barpara namely Chilarai Indoor Stadium, Bongaigaon and a mini stadium near Chapaguri Road.

List of hospitals

  1. S M Hospital
  2. Lower Assam Hospital And Research Center
  3. Swagat Hospital
  4. Chilarai Nursing Home
  5. St. Augustine's Hospital
  6. Bongaigaon Civil (Hatimura)
  7. Bongaigaon Civil (Barpara)
  8. Railway Hospital (Dangtola)
  9. B.R.P.L Refinary Hospital (Dhaligaon)

NTPC Bongaigaon

The NTPC project at Bongaigaon (3X250MW) is slated for commissioning. Assam gets 240MW from Palatana project, and will receive 300MW from Bongaigaon project. The total land requirement is 964 acres which is already available. The total project cost is estimated at Rs 40600 million.

Tourism

The scenic beauty of Bongaigaon is well preserved. Although, the city is being developed, the natural habitat remains largely untouched. The town park is open for residents as well as tourists and is well located in the heart of the city. Bagheswari Temple and Bageswari Hill are also two attractions for the visitors.

File:Kakragaon-Bongaigaon.jpg
Kakragaon a scenic village west of Bongaigaon

'KAYAKUJIYA BILL', a project undertaken by Assam Tourisim Development Corporation, is a popular tourist attraction situated near Abhayapuri about 25 kilometers from Bongaigaon. It attracts thousands of local and foreign tourists every season. The vast waterland consisting of small islands flourish with myriad flora & fauna. Many migratory birds migrate to this place during the winter.

Education

Schools: The number of schools kept rising after the refinery started functioning. Although, there are a good number of schools, but those providing higher secondary education are few. Renowned among them are-

Bongaigaon Railway Higher Secondary School

  • DPS Dhaligaon
  • KV New Bongaigaon
  • Bongaigaon English Medium High School (Menon's)
  • Santi Dham Kalibari High school
  • Vivekananda Vidhyapith Higher Secondary School
  • Hindi Higher Secondary School
  • Little Flower School, Chapaguri
  • St. Albert's High School, New Bongaigaon
  • Holly Child EM High School
  • Jnanodoy Higher Secondary School
  • Gyanadai Jatiya Vidyalaya
  • Dhaligaon L.P School, Dhaligaon
  • Dhaligaon High School
  • Euro Kids
  • Kidzee

But seeing the impressive results for quite a few years, the number of schools are on rise.

Bongaigaon Refinery HS School, Dhaligaon
DPS Dhaligaon

Colleges:

  • Bongaigaon College,established in 1964.
  • Bongaigaon Polytechnic
  • Bijhora Mahavidyalaya (Degree Science College)
  • Birjhora Kanya Mahavidyalaya
  • Bongaigaon Law College
  • Bongaigaon B.Ed College
  • CEC
  • NEDS
  • Telly Academy
  • S.R Academy

Many students venture out to other colleges throughout the country for higher studies. It has provision for M.A. (English) from Bongaigaon College and one IGNOU Study Centre in Birjhora Mahavidyalaya. From there also correspondence M.A. (English), BCA, can be completed.

3G services in Bongaigaon

3G services are a recent addition to the city.

Sl No. Mobile Operator
1 BSNL[5]
2 Aircel[6]
3 Reliance[7]
4 Airtel[8]
5 Idea Cellular[9]
6 Vodafone[10]

Other mobile operators will soon launch their 3G services in the city.

Important Places

  • Bageswari Mandir and Hill
  • Eco Park, near Bongaigaon College
  • Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station
  • Birjhora Tea Estate
  • Koya Kujia
  • Coconut Plant Project
  • Kakoijana Reserve Forest (project for preservation of Golden Langur)
  • New Bongaigaon Railway Station
  • Jogighopa Caves
  • Sangram Niloy
  • Bamuni Hills
  • Ganesh Mandir

[11]

Politics

Bongaigaon is part of Barpeta (Lok Sabha constituency).[12]

References

  1. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Bongaigaon
  2. ^ "Census 2011". census2011.co.in. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  3. ^ "District Report Bongaigaon" (PDF). commissioned by Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  4. ^ "Historical Weather for Delhi, India". Weather Underground. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  5. ^ www.assam.bsnl.co.in
  6. ^ www.aircel.com
  7. ^ www.rcom.co.in
  8. ^ www.airtel.in
  9. ^ www.ideacellular.com
  10. ^ www.vodafone.com
  11. ^ http://www.shinerealtors.com/niloy.html
  12. ^ "List of Parliamentary & Assembly Constituencies" (PDF). Assam. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-10-05.

External links