Jorhat Subdivision, 1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Jorhat Subdivision
Central subdivision of Sibsagar District, Eastern Bengal and Assam, lying between 26 degree 22' and 27 degree 11' N. and 93° 57' and 94° 36' E., with an area of 819 square miles. About two- fifths of the subdivision lies north of the main channel of the Brahma- putra, and is known as the Majuli island, a comparatively sparsely peopled tract, liable to damage from flood. The part south of the river is one of the most populous portions of the Assam Valley, and in places has a density exceeding 600 persons per square mile. The swamps fringing the Brahmaputra are inundated in the rains; but farther inland stretches a broad plain, the lower part of which is culti- vated with rice, while tea and sugar-cane are grown on the higher land. The population in 1901 was 219,137, about one-fourth of which was enumerated on tea gardens, as compared with 181,152 in 1891. The subdivision contains one town, Jorhat (population, 2,899), the head- quarters; and 651 villages. The annual rainfall at Jorhat town averages 80 inches, but on the eastern border of the subdivision it is a little higher. In 1904 there were altogether 56 tea gardens with 30,851 acres under plant, which gave employment to 62 Europeans and 36,849 natives. The subdivision is particularly well supplied with means of communication, as the Assam-Bengal Railway runs along the south-east, and at Titabar and Mariani meets a light state railway, which passes through Jorhat town to the Brahmaputra. The assess- ment for land revenue and local rates in 1903-4 was Rs. 5,79,000.
