Dibrugarh

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

Dibrugarh
City
From top left-to-right: Tea Garden, Assam Medical College & Hospital, Jagannath Temple, Dibrugarh University, Regional Medical Research Centre, Bogibeel Bridge.
Nickname: 
Tea City Of India & Industrial Hub Of Northeast
Dibrugarh is located in Assam
Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh
Location in Assam, India
Dibrugarh is located in India
Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh (India)
Coordinates: 27°29′N 95°00′E / 27.48°N 95°E / 27.48; 95
Country India
StateAssam
RegionUpper Assam
DistrictDibrugarh
No. Of Wards22[1]
Established1873
Government
 • TypeMunicipal corporation
 • BodyDibrugarh Municipal Corporation
 • MLAPrasanta Phukan, BJP
 • District CommissionerBikram Kairi, IAS
 • Superintendent Of PoliceSwetank Mishra, IPS
 • MayorSaikat Patra BJP
Area
 • Total71.83 km2 (27.73 sq mi)
Elevation
108 m (354 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total154,296
 • Density4,300/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
DemonymDibrugarhian
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
786001-786005
Telephone code+91 – (0) 373 – XX XX XXX
ISO 3166 codeIN-AS
Vehicle registrationAS-06
Sex Ratio934 ♀️/ 1000 ♂️
ClimateCwa
Official LanguageAssamese
Literacy RateIncrease 89.42% high
Lok Sabha ConstituencyDibrugarh
Vidhan Sabha ConstituencyDibrugarh
HDIIncrease 0.503 high
Websitedibrugarhmunicipality.in

Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens.[1] It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam in India. Dibrugarh serves as the headquarters of the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council, which is the governing council of the Sonowal Kachari tribe (found predominantly in the Dibrugarh district).

Etymology

aerial view of Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh aerial view

Dibrugarh derived its name from Dibarumukh (as a renowned encampment of Ahoms during the Ahom-Chutia conflict). Either the name “Dibru” evolved from Dibaru river or from the Bodo-Kachari word “Dibru” which means a “blister” and “Garh” meaning "fort". The Bodo-Kacharis add the prefix “Di-” (which means “water”) wherever there is small stream, a river, or a large river in a town or city.[2]

Climate

Dibrugarh has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa) with extremely wet summers and relatively dry winters.

Climate data for Dibrugarh Airport (1981–2010, extremes 1952–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 28.5
(83.3) 		33.2
(91.8) 		34.5
(94.1) 		36.0
(96.8) 		37.2
(99.0) 		38.1
(100.6) 		37.9
(100.2) 		37.5
(99.5) 		37.6
(99.7) 		36.3
(97.3) 		33.1
(91.6) 		30.6
(87.1) 		38.1
(100.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 23.1
(73.6) 		24.2
(75.6) 		26.2
(79.2) 		27.4
(81.3) 		29.8
(85.6) 		31.1
(88.0) 		31.0
(87.8) 		31.8
(89.2) 		30.8
(87.4) 		30.1
(86.2) 		27.6
(81.7) 		24.6
(76.3) 		28.1
(82.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 16.4
(61.5) 		18.5
(65.3) 		21.3
(70.3) 		23.2
(73.8) 		25.8
(78.4) 		27.6
(81.7) 		27.9
(82.2) 		28.4
(83.1) 		27.5
(81.5) 		25.7
(78.3) 		21.6
(70.9) 		17.7
(63.9) 		23.5
(74.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 9.8
(49.6) 		12.8
(55.0) 		16.3
(61.3) 		19.1
(66.4) 		22.1
(71.8) 		24.4
(75.9) 		24.8
(76.6) 		25.2
(77.4) 		24.1
(75.4) 		21.1
(70.0) 		15.5
(59.9) 		10.8
(51.4) 		18.8
(65.8)
Record low °C (°F) 3.4
(38.1) 		4.8
(40.6) 		8.1
(46.6) 		10.8
(51.4) 		14.1
(57.4) 		16.5
(61.7) 		20.6
(69.1) 		19.5
(67.1) 		19.7
(67.5) 		13.3
(55.9) 		6.5
(43.7) 		2.7
(36.9) 		2.7
(36.9)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 27.8
(1.09) 		63.0
(2.48) 		117.5
(4.63) 		232.9
(9.17) 		307.2
(12.09) 		408.5
(16.08) 		525.0
(20.67) 		410.5
(16.16) 		351.5
(13.84) 		127.1
(5.00) 		21.5
(0.85) 		16.4
(0.65) 		2,609
(102.72)
Average rainy days 3.0 5.9 9.1 13.5 14.3 18.2 21.7 17.2 15.0 7.1 2.0 1.6 128.5
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) 74 68 66 71 73 78 80 78 82 83 81 78 76
Source 1: India Meteorological Department[3][4][5]
Source 2: Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1981–2010)[6]

Demographics

Religion in Dibrugarh City (2011)[7]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 94.37%
Islam
 
 4.68%
Buddhism
 
 0.36%
Sikhism
 
 0.23%
Others†
 
 0.27%
Distribution of religions
†Includes Jainism (<0.1%)

As of the 2011 India census,[8] Dibrugarh city had a population of 154,296. Males constituted 54% of the population and females 46%. The sex ratio of Dibrugarh city was 961 per 1000 males.

The average literacy rate of Dibrugarh is 89.5%, which is higher than the national average literacy rate.

In Dibrugarh, 9% of the population is between 0 and 6 years of age, and the child ratio of girls is 940 per 1000 boys. Dibrugarh city area has a population of 154,296 according to a 2011 census. The Dibrugarh metropolitan areas include Barbari (AMC AREA), Dibrugarh, and Mahpowalimara Gohain Gaon[9]

Languages spoken in Dibrugarh city (2011)[10]

  Assamese (41.62%)
  Bengali (23.51%)
  Hindi (21.39%)
  Nepali (1.04%)
  Others (12.44%)

Dibrugarh city have a population of 154,296 as per 2011 census. Assamese is spoken by 64,223 people, Bengali at 36,283, Hindi at 33,011, Bhojpuri by 5,533 people, Nepali at 1,609 and 11,911 people speaks other languages.[10]

Economy

Fields Headquarters of Oil India Limited at Duliajan

Oil India Ltd.

The first oil well dug during the British era was in Digboi, 50 miles (80 km) from Dibrugarh. Today, Duliajan, Dikom, Tengakhat and Moran are the key locations for oil and gas industry in the district. Oil India Limited, the second public sector company in India engaged in exploration and transportation of crude oil has its field headquarters in Duliajan, 50 km from Dibrugarh city. The company was granted Navratna status by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, in 2010.[11]

Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (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 was approved by the 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 ₹ 54.6 billion, in which the capital subsidy is ₹ 21.4 billion. The project was scheduled for completion in 60 months. However, the commissioning of the project has been pushed to December 2013, and the cost has escalated to ₹ 92.8 million. The site selected for Assam Gas Cracker Project is at Lepetkata, 15 km from Dibrugarh on NH-37. A joint-venture agreement was signed on 18 October 2006, and the company Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited was registered on 8 January 2007. Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, laid the foundation stone of this project on 9 April 2007.[12][13]

APL

Assam Petro-Chemicals is a semi-governmental Indian company with major stakes held by Government of Assam, Oil India Limited and Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC).[14] The company was incorporated in 1971 and by 1976 had started production at their small methanol plant located at Namrup along with formaldehyde and a few urea-formaldehyde resins like urea-formaldehyde glue and urea-formaldehyde moulding powder. Post expansion in 1989 and 1998, the company expanded the methanol plant to the capacity of 100TPD (tonnes per day) and formaldehyde plant to 100TPD.[15] The company announced in September 2017 that it would invest ₹1,337 crore (US$170 million) and expand to produce 500TPD methanol and 200TPD formalin and become the largest producer of methanol in India.[16][17][18] The required feedstock for these plants are natural gas, urea and carbon dioxide. Natural gas, supplied by Oil India Ltd, is used as feedstock for methanol production.[19] Urea and carbon dioxide are supplied by Namrup Fertilizer Plant.[20]

Tea

Tea

Dibrugarh hosts several tea gardens dating back to the British era. The first garden was at Chabua, a place 20 miles (32 km) away from Dibrugarh, owned by Maniram Devaan.[21] Today, the headquarters of the Directorate of Development of Small Tea Growers in India is functioning from Dibrugarh,[22] besides a Regional Office of the Tea Board of India headed by a deputy director of Tea Development (Plantation) is also located in the city. The Zone I of the Assam Branch Indian Tea Association (ABITA) is located at Dibrugarh.[23]

Tourism

Rail, road and air connectivity coupled with the presence of large number of tourist spots in and around Dibrugarh city has seen impressive growth of tourism industry in this part of India in recent part. Dibrugarh has also become an important destination as well as a major transit point for tourists from both India and abroad. Such tourist circuits include – Dibrugarh – Roing – Mayudia – Anini Tourist Circuit,[24] Dibrugarh – Guwahati river cruise[25] besides 'Tea Tourism' for tourists who prefer serenity and novelty to the hustle-bustle of established tourist destinations.[26] Some important tourist sites of the city are:

Transportation

Airways

Dibrugarh Airport

Dibrugarh Airport, which is located around 15 km from Dibrugarh town at Mohanbari. Airlines operating from the airport are Air India, IndiGo, Vistara, SpiceJet and Pawan Hans. IndiGo connects Dibrugarh daily with Delhi via Kolkata and another non-stop to Delhi while in return via Guwahati. SpiceJet connects Dibrugarh daily with Guwahati and Kolkata. In 2013, Dibrugarh airport was provided with night landing facility.[27] Commercial operation of aerobridges have also started in this airport.[28]

Railways

Dibrugarh Railway Station

Dibrugarh holds a prominent place in the history of Indian Railways with the first railway services of the entire North-East India starting from here. On 1 May 1882, the first train rolled down the tracks from Streamerghat at Dibrugarh. On 15 May 1882, it was extended up to Dinjan. On 23 December that year goods train up to Chabua was introduced. On 18 February 1884, at 7:20 am, the then Chief Commissioner of Assam Sir Charles Illiot flagged off the first passenger train from Reehabari rail station (now Dibrugarh Town Railway station) to Ledo with 400 European and Indian passengers. As per the Centenary Souvenir of the Assam Railways and Trading Company Limited published in 1991, the said company, being the pioneer in building Dibru–Sadiya Railway, described the entire history of railway development from Dibrugarh.[29] Dibrugarh Town and Dibrugarh are two railway stations of the city and also two of the important easternmost railway stations on the map of the Indian Railways connected to some of the important Indian cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Trivandrum, Kolkata, Delhi, Kanyakumari etc. through the railways network. The new Dibrugarh railway station has been developed on the outskirts of the city at Banipur. It lies on the Lumding-Dibrugarh section of Tinsukia railway division. It is the biggest railway station in the entire north east spreading over 400 bighas of land and it is 2 km in length. One goods yard is also being developed for loading and unloading of goods along with a truck shed, which can accommodate 25 trucks at a time.[30]

Waterways

IWT Bogibeel Ghat

Dibrugarh also possesses a developed waterway transportation system along and across the Brahmaputra river, known as the National Waterway 2 which extends from Bangladesh Border to Sadiya. Ferry services link Dibrugarh with Sengajan (Dhemaji District), Panbari (Dhemaji) & Oiram Ghat (near Jonai Dhemaji). From Bogibeel IWT Ghat there are regular ferry Services to Kareng Chapori & Sisi Mukh. Moreover, luxury cruise services are also available from Dibrugarh to Guwahati. The cruise to Dibrugarh passes through Tezpur and the Kaziranga National Park.[31]

Education and research

Dibrugarh Govt. Boys' H. S. School
Dibrugarh University
DHSK College, Dibrugarh

Schools

Colleges

University

Medical Institutions

Technical Institutions

Media

Electronic media

Dibrugarh has a full-fledged All India Radio centre, All India Radio, Dibrugarh[32] broadcasting in both AM (567 kHz at 529.1 metres of MW) and FM (101.30 MHz) bands airing three transmissions a day[33] along with a 5-minute regional news bulletin at 6:00 pm every day.[34] All India Radio, Dibrugarh was commissioned way back on 15 February 1968.[33] The station has its studios located at Malakhubosa in Dibrugarh and the high power transmission tower located at Lepetkata near the present Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited site.

Doordarshan Kendra, Dibrugarh

As for television viewing, the second Doordarshan centre of Assam, telecasting programmes in Assamese language, Doordarshan Kendra, Dibrugarh was established in the city in the year 1993. Earlier the Kendra used to telecast Assamese language programmes capsuled in Guwahati beginning 20 December 1991.[35] The programmes produced in this Kendra are telecast through a high power transmitter.[36] Dibrugarh Doordarshan Kendra is contributing programmes to the 'DD North East' channel.[37]

Print media

Dibrugarh has been a pioneer of newspaper journalism in entire Eastern India with the Times of Assam being the first newspaper published from Dibrugarh in the late nineteenth century. After four decades of publication, Times of Assam ceased to publish and from 1939 The Assam Tribune started its journey from Dibrugarh, which after 7 years of publication from Dibrugarh, shifted to Guwahati. However, this premier English daily of the North-East India, The Assam Tribune is published from Dibrugarh along with Guwahati and The Sentinel is published from Dibrugarh along with four other cities of North-East India. Several vernacular, as well English and Bengali dailies are published from Dibrugarh. Assamese newspapers published from Dibrugarh are Asomiya Pratidin, Janasadharan, Niyomiya Barta, Dainik Asam, Dainik Pratikshan and Pratibimba,[1]. Jugashangkha is a Bengali daily published from Dibrugarh along with Guwahati and Silchar.

Politics

Dibrugarh is part of Dibrugarh (Lok Sabha constituency). Rameswar Teli (BJP) is the current Member of Parliament from Dibrugarh. Former Chief Ministers of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal & Jogendra Nath Hazarika hailed from Dibrugarh.[38] BJP's Prasanta Phukan is the incumbent MLA of Dibrugarh (Vidhan Sabha constituency).

Notable people

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dibrugarh.

References

  1. ^ a b "Dibrugarh civic body attains municipal corporation status". The Times of India. 8 March 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  2. ^ "About Dibrugarh – Dibrugarh University". Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Station: Dibrugarh/Mohanbari (A) Climatological Table 1981–2010" (PDF). Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 249–250. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  5. ^ "Dibrugarh Climatological Table 1971–2000". India Meteorological Department. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Normals Data: Dibrugarh/Mohanbari - India Latitude: 27.48°N Longitude: 95.02°E Height: 110 (m)". Japan Meteorological Agency. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Dibrugarh Census Report". Dibrugarh.gov.in. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
  9. ^ "Census 2011 Data of Indian Population 2011 Census". Census2011.co.in. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  10. ^ a b 2011 Census censusindia.gov.in
  11. ^ "Oil India receives Navratna status".
  12. ^ Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited, Assam Archived 10 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Assamgovt.nic.in. Retrieved on 9 November 2011.
  13. ^ Business Line: Companies News: Assam gas cracker project suffers cost, time overruns. Thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved on 9 November 2011
  14. ^ "Assam Petro-chemicals Limited bags Skoch Gold Award". The Sentinel. 8 December 2018. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  15. ^ "Assam Petro-chemicals Limited – About us". Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited. 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  16. ^ Singh, Bikash (24 September 2017). "Assam Petrochemicals Limited to invest Rs 1337 crore to set up second unit". Economic Times. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  17. ^ Tripathy, Tejesh (3 May 2019). "BJP respects all views: Sonowal". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 June 2019. Addressing the gathering after laying the foundation stone of a formalin plant ... The Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited will supply methanol, the raw material needed to make formalin (preservative), to this plant which will produce 200 tonnes of formalin daily. The plant, for which 163 bighas has been allotted by the government at Dhaknamari, is being set up at a cost of Rs 100 crore.
  18. ^ Karamakar, Rahul (5 October 2018). "India's first methanol cooking fuel debuts in Assam". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  19. ^ Kalita, Prabin (28 September 2018). "Assam Petrochemicals Ltd to roll out country's first methanol-based cooking fuel". Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  20. ^ Atikuddin Ahmed (1987). The Anatomy of Rural Poverty in Assam. Mittal Publications. p. 29. ISBN 8170990092.
  21. ^ (Barua 1994:Preface)
  22. ^ "Press Information Bureau".
  23. ^ "The Official Website of Tea Board India".
  24. ^ "Arunachal Tourism". Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  25. ^ "Brahmaputra Cruise - Neamati to Guwahati". Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  26. ^ Das, Ripunjoy (12 July 2005). "Tea belt takes to heritage tourism". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  27. ^ Mohanbari Airport ready for night landing Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Assamtribune.com (20 September 2013). Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  28. ^ Assam TribuneAssamtribune.com (2 October 2013). Retrieved 3 October 2013 Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  29. ^ Dibrugarh Rly Station denied heritage status Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Assamtribune.com (17 June 2010). Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  30. ^ "The Assam Tribune Online". www.assamtribune.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014.
  31. ^ "Bharat Darshan – Guwahati". Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  32. ^ "All India Radio, Dibrugarh". Prasar Bharati. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  33. ^ a b "Get Apps | Prasar Bharati".
  34. ^ "NEWS ON AIR : News on AIR brings the Latest & Top Breaking News on Politics, G-20 summit, Cricket, Sports, Business , State,Formula One in INDIA , Regional Language Audio Bulletins , Regional Language scripts & more". Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  35. ^ "Doordarshan Kendra Guwahati".
  36. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.{cite web}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  37. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.{cite web}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  38. ^ "List of Parliamentary & Assembly Constituencies" (PDF). Assam. Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2006. Retrieved 6 October 2008.

Sources

  • Barua, Deepali (1994), Urban history of India: a case study, Mittal Publication, New Delhi

External links