Bongaigaon district

Bongaigaon district (Prpn:ˈbɒŋgaɪˌgãʊ) is an administrative district in the state of Assam in northeastern India. The district headquarters are located at Bongaigaon. The district occupies an area of 2,510 km2.

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Bongaigaon.

Bongaigaon district
District
Coordinates: 26.4667°N 90.5667°E / 26.4667; 90.5667
CountryIndia
StateAssam
DivisionLower Assam
HeadquartersBongaigaon
Area
 • Total976 km2 (377 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total738,804
 • Density760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 codeIN-AS
Websitebongaigaon.gov.in

History

The district of Bongaigaon was created on 29 September 1989 from parts of Goalpara and Kokrajhar districts.[1] 2004 saw a loss of size when part of the district was split to make Chirang district.[1]

Geography

Bongaigaon district occupies an area of 1,724 square kilometres (666 sq mi),[2] comparatively equivalent to Réunion.[3] Bongaigaon district is surrounded by Barpeta in the east, the Brahmaputra in the south and Kokrajhar in the north and west corner and share international border with Bhutan in the north. The places that are worth visiting in Bongaigaon are eco park, Bagheswari temple, tea garden, and Suryapahar. The history of Bagheswari temple is such that once a priest saw in his dream that Maa Bagheswari asked him to go to particular place where if he digs out he will find a sword that belonged to Maa Bagheswari. And next morning when the priest went to dig in the place he saw in his dreams, he found the sword. After that day a temple was built over the place and there they worship the sword. There is no idol inside the temple.

Economy

In 2006 the Indian government named Bongaigaon one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[4] It is one of the eleven districts in Assam currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[4]

Divisions

The district has three subdivisions: Bongaigaon, Bijni and North Salmara. In 2004, parts of the Bongaigaon district (mainly areas under Bijni subdivision) were given over to form the Chirang district, under the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), with its district headquarters at Kajalgaon.

There are four Assam Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district: Bongaigaon, Bijni, Abhayapuri North, and Abhayapuri South. The latter is designated for scheduled castes.[5] Bijni is in the Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency, whilst the other three are in the Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency.[6]

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Bongaigaon district has a population of 738,804,[7] roughly equal to the nation of Guyana[8] or the US state of Alaska.[9] This gives it a ranking of 496th in India (out of a total of 640).[7] The district has a population density of 425 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,100/sq mi) .[7] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 19.58%.[7] Bongaigaon has a sex ratio of 961 females for every 1000 males,[7] and a literacy rate of 70.44%.[7]

Muslims are a majority of the district with 50.22% (371,033), while 359,145 people are Hindus (48.6%).[10]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
190164,439—    
191183,731+2.65%
1921106,292+2.41%
1931123,233+1.49%
1941141,686+1.41%
1951154,878+0.89%
1961229,353+4.00%
1971315,082+3.23%
1991497,962+2.31%
2001612,665+2.09%
2011738,804+1.89%
source:[11]

Language

As per latest district language record, Assamese language is spoken by 362,006 people constituting (48.99%) of the district while Bangla language is spoken by 331,297 people constituting (44.84%) according to language census report of 2011.

References
  1. Law, Gwillim (25 September 2011). "Districts of India". Statoids. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  2. Srivastava, Dayawanti et al. (ed.) (2010). "States and Union Territories: Assam: Government". India 2010: A Reference Annual (54th ed.). New Delhi, India: Additional Director General, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Government of India. p. 1116. ISBN 978-81-230-1617-7.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  3. "Island Directory Tables: Islands by Land Area". United Nations Environment Program. 18 February 1998. Retrieved 11 October 2011. Réunion 2,535km2
  4. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  5. "List of Assembly Constituencies showing their Revenue & Election District wise break – up" (PDF). Chief Electoral Officer, Assam website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  6. "List of Assembly Constituencies showing their Parliamentary Constituencies wise break – up" (PDF). Chief Electoral Officer, Assam website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  7. "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  8. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 1 October 2011. Guyana 744,768
  9. "2010 Resident Population Data". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Alaska 710,231
  10. "Religious demography of Assam Census 2011". Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  11. Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
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