Habiganj Town

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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.

Habiganj Town

Head-quarters of the subdivision of the same name in Sylhet District, Eastern Bengal and Assam, situated in 24° 23' N. and 91° id' E., at the confluence of the Khowai and Barak rivers. The nearest railway station is at Shaistaganj, 9 miles distant. Population (1901), 5,236. Like other towns in this inundated tract, it is built on the bank of the river, which is raised a little above the level of the surrounding country. It is the head-quarters of the Subdivisional Magis- trate and his assistants, and of the four Munsifs who dispose of the civil business of the subdivision.

The public buildings include a sub- sidiary jail with accommodation for 54 persons, a dispensary with 6 beds, and a high school with an average attendance of 318 boys. The town was constituted a Union under Bengal Act V of 1876 in 1881. The receipts and expenditure in 1903-4 were about Rs. 5,000. There is a considerable trade with Bengal, most of which goes by country boat. The principal imports are grain and pulse, cotton piece-goods, kerosene and other oils, and salt. The chief exports are rice, jute, mustard, linseed, and hides. The majority of the merchants arc members of the Shaha caste.