Hailakandi
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.
Hailakandi
Subdivision of Cachar District, Eastern Bengal and Assam, lying between 24° 12' and 24° 53' N. and 92° 26' and 92° 46' E., with an area of 414 square miles. It occupies the valley of the Dhales- wari, south of the Barak, and is separated from Sylhet on the west by the Saraspur Hills. The population in 1891 was 99,869, which by 1901 had risen to 112,897, giving a density of 272 persons per square mile, as compared with 121 in the District as a whole. A large part of the sub- division consists of a flat plain producing rice ; but the tea industry is also of considerable importance, and in 1904 there were on the higher ground 31 gardens with 11,353 acres under plant, which gave employ- ment to 27 Europeans and 13,600 natives. The annual rainfall averages about no inches, which is considerably less than that recorded in the north of the Cachar plains. The subdivision contains 269 villages. The head-quarters of the Magistrate in charge, who is almost invariably a European, are located at Hailakandi. The demand on account of land revenue and local rates in 1903-4 was Rs. 1,33,000.
