Dhemaji District
| Total Population : 571,944 |
| Total literate : 304,606 |
| Rural : 533,112 |
Urban : 38,832 |
| Male : 294,643 |
Female : 277,301 |
| Area : 3,237 Sq. Km |
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Challenges
in Dhemaji
Divakar Nats Mishra -
Dy Commissioner
Floods
Poor infrastructure - Education, Rail....
Absence of industrialisation
Poor per capita income
Low cropping intensity
Brief
about District
History
of Dhemaji
It
is believed that in 1240 A.D.; (approx). The first
King of Ahom reign Chow Chukafa established his capital
at a place named Haboong in the district of Dhemaji.
Due to perennial flood in the area the King shifted
the capital from Haboong and after that the area became
under the rule of Chutias and it continued from 1223
to 1523 A.D. During 1523 A.D. the then Ahom King Chuhung
- Moong attacked and kill the Chutia king Natipal
and as a result the area again became under the kingdom
of Ahoms.
The
entire Dhemaji district area was originally inhabitated
by various indigeneous tribes like Mising, Sonowal
Kachari, Bodo Kachari, Deori and Laloong. In addition
to this different tribes e.g. Ahom, Rabha, Tai - Khamti,
Konch, Keot, Koiborta, Brahman, Kayastha, Kalita etc.
were migrated during different moments of time span.
There
are a number of mythological and hypothetical believes
regarding the origin of the name "Dhemaji". One of
the most popular believe is that - there was a river
which used to change its course very frequently and
resulted unanticipated flood covering different parts
of the area. Hence the river was believed to be a
kind of evil spirit. The Assamese version of the words
flood and playing are "Dhal" and "Dhemali" respectively
and therefore the area when flood is a perennial phenomenon
may be called as a playground for flood i.e., in Assamese
it became to be "Dhal Dhemali" with the ellapsation
of time the word "Dhal" was omitted and also the word
"Dhemali" started to be pronounced as "Dhemaji".
Initially,
the present geographical area of Dhemaji district
was a part of the then Lakhimpur District with its
headquarter at Dibrugarh. In 1971 Dhemaji was declared
as a Sub-Division, Including Jonai and Dhakuakhana
(Presently under Lakhimpur District) 14th Aug/1st
Oct, 1989 Dhemaji was declared as an independent district
covering Jonai and Dhemaji (Sadar) Sub-Divisions.
Geography
The Dhemaji district came into being on 14th
August / 1st October 1989. It comprises of erstwhile
Dhemaji and Jonai sub-division and parts of Machkhowa
mouza and Bordoloni. Forted by arch shaped Arunachal
hills on the North and the East, the district emerges
from the foot hills and streches to the Brahmaputra
river with Subansiri one side and the river Siang
on the other. Geographically situated between the
940 12' 18'' E and 950 41' 32''
E longitudes and 270 05' 27'' N and 270
57' 16'' N latitudes, the district covers an area
of 3237 Sq. Km and is a basically plain area lying
at an altitude of 104 m above the Mean Sea Level.
Physiography
of Dhemaji District
The
Brahmaputra Valley is of the nature of a “ramp” valley
developed during the simultaneous upheaval of the
Himalayas on the North and North East and the Patkai
ranges on the South and South East. The region is
prone to earthquake and shocks of various intensities
are felt from time to time. The great earthquake of
1950 brought a trail of devastation causing loss to
both life and property. The frequency of earthquakes
in Assam is closely related to the geology of the
region.
The
geological setting of Arunachal Himalaya and evolution
of Tertiary Himalaya:
Tectonically
the Himalayan extension of northeast India is being
divided into Himalayan mountain ranges in the north
and the Arakan Yoma range in the east. The mountain
belts merge together at its eastern extremity through
an arcuate bend (syntaxial bend) where the NE-SW trend
of the Himalaya seem to have ridden over the NNE-SSW
trending Arakan Yoma orogen. The northern limit of
the Himalaya is marked by a lineament along the westerly
flowing Upper Indus and easterly flowing Tsangpo (Upper
Brahmaputra). This lineament is known as Indus Suture.
The Outer Himalaya, also called as Foredeep Folded
Belt or Siwalik Range, mostly and extensively covers
the western extremity of the range, but appears as
a narrow strip on the Southern Arunachal Pradesh.
This Foredeep Folded Belt in the West of Arakan Yoma
Range comprises the low-lying hills of Mizoram, Tripura
and Manipur and comprises of Neogene sediments. The
Indus Suture Zone is highly deformed and is characterized
by the presence of nearly vertical thrust faults.
According to Plate Tectonic theory, the Indus Suture
Zone constitutes the subduction zone along which the
Indian Plate collides with the Tibetan Plate giving
rise to the formation of the Himalayan mountains.
About
70 million years ago, there was a sea in the North
of Peninsular India which connected the Arabian Sea
and the Bay of Bengal across the northern parts of
the subcontinent. The sea started to recede towards
the west and east during the early Eocene. This trend
of marine regression continued till the final emergence
of the Himalayan Mountains by the end of the Tertiary
Period. The rise of the Himalayas was accomplished
in a series of five or more impulses, intervened by
intervals of comparative quiescence. The collision
of the Indian Plate with the Asian Plate retarded
the pace of northerly drift of the Indian Plate. The
drift direction slightly changed. The Indian Plate
began its rotational movement, giving rise to the
formation of the syntaxial bend at the northeastern
extremity of the Himalayan Mountains. The Arakan Mountains
in eastern India and their continuation into the Andaman
Nicobar Island were also formed during the Tertiary
diastrophism. Six pulses of diastrophic movement having
a widespread impact on the sedimentation pattern in
the Assam Arakan basin have been recognized.
From
a tectonic point of view, Assam-Arakan basin is classified
as Foreland basin. The Assam-Arakan basin is located
between two thrust belts. The Tertiary sediments of
the Upper Assam belong to two distinct depositional
facies – a relatively shallow water shelf facies and
a deep-water geosynclinal facies. Between the Himalayas
and the Naga-Disang thrust complex occurs an autochthonous
zone, the Foreland Spar containing sediments ranging
in age from Eocene to Pliestocene. These are intersected
by a number of gravity faults. Further east in the
Patkai Range Tertiary sedimentation took place under
deeper water conditions punctuated by slight emergence
at some places. The sea receded southwards towards
the end of the Oligocene. Miocene sedimentation took
place mostly under fresh water to brackish conditions.
Oligo-Miocene was also the time when the deposits
of Assam-Arakan basin were overthrusted towards the
northwest over the northeastern extension of the Indian
Shield. The outermost of this thrust, the Naga thrust
belt consist of a succession of six thrust sheets
(Evans, 1932; Berger et al, 1983). The whole discussion
leads to the conclusion that the whole of northeast
India is a tectonically active zone due to presence
of active thrusts, fault planes and very fragile loose
sediments, steep slope angle leading to frequent landslides
in the hilly areas. The courses of rivers are also
influenced by these active tectonic lineaments.
The
district is in a strategic location where steep slope
of Eastern Himalayas abruptly drop forming a narrow
valley, which widens towards the western side. Numerous
drainage systems originating from the hills of Arunachal
Pradesh flow through this narrow valley ending at
the mighty river Brahmaputra. In general the slope
of the triangular district drops from northern and
eastern corners towards south and western sides. After
the confluence the three mighty rivers i.e. Dihing,
Dibang and Lohit from their hilly course to the valley
exert tremendous impact of peak runoff at the eastern
most corner of Dhemaji district, making the district
vulnerable to annual flooding. After the great earthquake
in 1950 the Brahmaputra riverbed is rising continuously
due to deposition of sand carried down from upstream.
This has led to the formation of a saucer shaped low-lying
zone in the plains of the district.
Physiographically,
the area can broadly be divided into three district
units :
-
Piedmont zone: The foothill zone near the northern
and eastern parts adjacent to Arunachal Pradesh
-
Active flood plain: Near the river Bramhaputra
and other major tributaries.
-
Low-lying alluvial belt: Covering the middle plain
zone i.e. the saucer shaped built up zone. Innumerable
beels and swampy areas are common features.
Soil
The
general and average soil character of cultivable land
in these districts is mainly alluvial and composed
of mixture of sand (coarse to fine) and clay in varying
proportions. The general geochemical characteristics
of the soil is highly acidic. However, new alluvial
soils formed due to inundation of land by river at
intervals contain more percentages of fine sand fine
silt and are less acidic. Such soils are often neutral
and even alkaline. Large expanse of low-lying land
characterized by heavy clayish soil with a high percentage
of nitrogen is good for rice cultivation. Abundant
rainfall and excessive humidity through out the year
also greatly favor cultivation of rice in the district
.The soil around the Subansiri and Ranganadi rivers
are sandy coated with silt which is good for cultivation
of winter crops, such as raga, and mustard, potato
etc.
The
soils of this district can be broadly classified into
three different zones viz. The foothill soils, active
flood plain soils near the river Bramhaputra and the
low-lying marshy lands. A more detailed description
is given below:
Demography
Dhemaji
district shelters a population of 571944 as per 2001
census, which includes 294643 males and 277301 females,
sex ratio being 936 females per thousand males. The
average density is 176 per Sq. Km. The Schedule tribe
and schedule caste population of the district works
out to be 47.29% and 5.33% respectively of the total
population.
The
urban population is only 1.85%, which indicates the
predominantly rural character of the district. The
literacy rate is 41.69% while the female literacy
rate is 13.6%. The rate of growth of population in
the district between 1971 and 1991 was 104.48%, which
incidentally, is the highest, recorded in the state.
The annual rate of growth of population worked out
to be 5.22% compared to the overall state growth of
2.62%.
In
general there is a huge chunk of Other Backward Classes
(OBC) population comprising of Ahoms, Chutiyas, Konches
etc. The Schedule tribes include Mishings, Sonowal
Kacharis Bodos, Deoris, Lalungs, Hazongs, Ex-tea garden
community makes up only a negligible part of the total
population. The principal languages of the region
are Assamese, Mishing, Bodo and Bengali. The principal
religion is Hinduism. However, Christianity and Islam
are also practiced to a limited extent. there is almost
no record of Communal violence.
Land
Utilisation
Dhemaji
and Lakhimpur district have extensive plain areas,
suitable for cultivation but due to improper land
use planning and unplanned constructions a huge chunk
of land becomes water logged due to rain water as
well as excessive flood water. Some of these areas
dry out during winter while some remain as ditches,
cesspools or waterlogged ‘beel’ areas. Both these
districts have a good number of ‘beels’ and marshes
covered with thick and dense population of weeds,
water hyacinth, water lily etc. ranging in height
from ten to twenty feet. In addition, some areas are
sand casted by flash floods caused by embankment breaches.
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