| Bongaigaon | |
| — city — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Assam |
| District(s) | Bongaigaon |
| Population | 60,550 (2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 54 metres (177 ft) |
| Website | bongaigaon.nic.in |
Bongaigaon (Assamese: বঙাইগাঁও [bɔ.ŋa.i.gã.o]) is a city and the administrative headquarters and municipal board of Bongaigaon District, Assam, India. The city is situated 180 kilometres (112 mi) north west of Guwahati. It has two parts - Old Bongaigaon and New Bongaigaon. Recently it was divided and a new district Chirang was formed, to meet the demands of Bodos of Assam. It has a major petrochemical industry, the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL BGR).
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The decision of the Government of Assam 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.
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the same year a new district named "Greater Koch Behar" was created and the residual portion of Goalpara district was withdrawn from Rangpur and tagged with Koch Behar.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 (Successor of East India Company) and Goalpara district area was withdrawn from Koch Behar and tagged with Assam Province which continues till today unless petty political gambling disturbs.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 people|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.
The nearest domestic and international airports is Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.It is about 165 km from Bongaigaon.
Bongaigaon falls under the Northeast Frontier Railway zone of the Indian Railways.There are two stations in Bongaigaon - New Bongaigaon Jn and Bongaigaon (old) station. Major trains serving Bongaigaon with major cities are Guwahati Rajdhani Express, Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express, Saraighat Express, North-East Express, Guwahati Bangalore Express, Guwahati Ernakulam Express, Kamrup Express.It is the largest station in Lower Assam after Guwahati.
National Highway 31 connects Bongaigaon with the states Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. National Highway 37 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 Barpeta,Tezpur,Goalpara,Siliguri,Cooch Behar etc.
Bongaigaon has considerably good sporting facilities.It has got a new indoor stadium in barpara namely Chilaray Indoor Stadium,Bongaigaon and a mini stadium near Chapaguri Road.
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.
Everyman and place do possesses some peculiarities and particulraties that constitute the inherent identity in spite of heterogeneous elements. 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 Budhist culture. The hills and the hilly rocks, the rivers, natural and man made ponds, the deep forest, the trees, plants and the bushes.
Bongaigaon is located at .[1] It has an average elevation of 54 metres (177 feet).
As of 2001 India census,[2] Bongaigaon district had a population of 9,06,315. Males constitute 51.41% of the population and females 48.58%. Bongaigaon has an average literacy rate of 60.26%.with male literacy of 81% and female literacy of 70%. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. The majority of the population is dominated by Bodos and Assamesse followed by Bengalis, Marwaris. Recently, Bangladeshi immigration has increased the population by substantial number.
Most of the residents are dominated farmers. Others are mostly in Service. There are very few private firms and industries. Business is basically dominated by Marwaris (Mercantile).
Bongaigaon has a number of Hotels in the city.They are-
The NTPC project at Bongaigaon 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.
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. There are other developments such as expansion of roads and improvements in drainage.
Apart from these there is one more tourist spot near Abhayapuri about 25 kilometers from Bongaigaon town well known as 'KAYAKUJIYA BILL' ,a project undertaken by Assam tourisim development corporation. It's scenic beauty is charming and it attracts thousands of local & foreign tourists every season. It's having small islands in a vast waterland with varieties of flower gardens and consist numorous flora & fauna.Many migratory birds migrate to this place in the winters.
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-
But seeing the impressive results for quite a few years, the number of schools are on rise.
Colleges: Though there are a few colleges providing higher education.
These include:
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.
Bongaigaon is part of Barpeta (Lok Sabha constituency).[3]