Sibsagar Town, 1908
Sibsagar Town
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.
Head-quarters of the District and subdivision of the same name, Eastern Bengal and Assam, situated in 26 59' N. and 94 38 / E., on the right bank of the Dikho river. It lies on the trunk road along the south bank of the Brahmaputra, and is connected by road with the railway at Nazira and with the Brahma- putra at Disangmukh, the distance to each of these places being about 9 miles. Population (1901), 5,712. Sibsagar is somewhat unfavour- ably situated for trade, and the population shows little tendency to increase. The town takes its name from a tank (sagar), a mile and three-quarters in circumference, which was constructed by the Ahom Raja Sib Singh in 1722. Between 1699 and 1786 Rangpur near Sibsagar was the capital of the Ahoms, but in the latter year the Raja was driven by his rebellious subjects to Jorhat. The rainfall is heavy (94 inches), but the town is healthy, though during the rains most of the country in the neighbourhood is flooded. It is the head-quarters of the District staff and of a branch of the American Baptist Mission. In addition to the usual public buildings, there are a hospital with 20 beds and a jail with accommodation for 77 prisoners. Sibsagar was constituted a station under (Bengal) Act V of 1876 in 1880. The municipal receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 11,000. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 11,500, includ- ing taxes on houses and lands (Rs. 2,400) and grant from Provincial Revenues (Rs. 5,000), while the expenditure was Rs. 11,200. The principal imports are cotton piece-goods, oil ; grain, and salt ; the exports are inconsiderable. The chief educational institutions are two high schools, which had an average attendance of 393 boys in 1903-4. About 150 members of the Assam Valley Light Horse were resident in the District in 1904. The transfer of the head-quarters of the District to Jorhat has recently been sanctioned.
