Jorhat


Jorhat is a city and one of the important urban centres in the state of Assam in India.

Geography

Jorhat is located at. It has an average elevation of.
The municipal area stretches to having 19 wards with a population of about 1.53 lakhs at present. The district spreads over and had a population of 870,000 according to a 1991 census. Population density at that time was. The sex ratio is 913.

Demographics

In 2011, Jorhat District Urban population was 219,565 of which males and females were 113,555 and 106,010 respectively, while the rural population was 871,730, male 444,389 and female 427,341. There was an increase of 9.21 percent in the population compared to the population of 2001. In the previous census of India 2001, Jorhat recorded an increase of 14.69 percent to its population compared to 1991.
The average literacy rate of Jorhat in 2011 was 91.39%. Gender-wise, male and female literacy were 93.63% and 88.99% respectively. The total literates in Jorhat were 182,600 of which male and female were 96,806 and 85,794 respectively.
With regards to the sex ratio in Jorhat, it stood at 934 females per 1000 males, according to the Census 2011 Directorate.

History

Jorhat means two hats or mandis- "Macharhat" and "Chowkihat" which existed on the opposite banks of the river Bhogdoi. During the 18th century, Jorhat was the last capital of the Ahom Kingdom, as a planned town under royal patronage. It is often spelt as "Jorehaut" during the British reign. In 1794, the Ahom King Gaurinath Singha shifted the capital from Sibsagar, erstwhile Rangpur to Jorhat. Many tanks were built around the capital city by the Ahom royalty such as Rajmao Pukhuri or Borpukhuri, Buragohain Pukhuri, Bolia Gohain Pukhuri, Kotoki Pukhuri and Mitha Pukhuri. This town was a flourishing and commercial metropolis but was destroyed by a series of Burmese invasions of Assam between 1817 and the arrival of the British force in 1824 under the stewardship of David Scott and Captain Richard.
From the very first decade of the British rule, revolutionaries like Gomdhar Konwar, Jeuram Medhi, and Piyali Phukan emerged. The British system of administration came into vogue in the year 1839 with an established Police Thana. During the great Sepoy Mutiny, Maniram Dewan and Piyali Barua were publicly hanged here in 1858.
In 1885, a narrow-gauge railway, Jorehaut Provincial Railway, became operational. In time, this contributed to the rapid growth of the tea industry.

Culture

Jorhat is vibrant and combines tradition and modernity. In 1896, Jorhat Theatre was established to perform cultural activities and dramas by some renowned people of the town. The Chandrakanta Handique Bhawan, the headquarters of Asam Sahitya Sabha was established in 1926. Jorhat has produced creative writers, historians and journalists. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya, the first Assamese to win India's highest literature award, the Jnanpith Award, was from Jorhat.

Media

The six daily newspapers published in Jorhat are - Dainik Janambhumi, Amar Asom, Dainik Agradoot and Asomiya Khobor in Assamese, the Purbanchal Prohori in Hindi and The Telegraph in English. The Eastern Clarion was the first English daily published in the city, but it went into administration. Apart from the dailies, weekly newspapers including Saptahik Janambhumi are also published in Jorhat. City Guide of Jorhat was the first yellow pages, published in July 1987. The first online yellow pages of Jorhatmycity was initiated in January 2013.
Jorhat has a radio broadcast station of All India Radio located in the outskirts of the city at Garmur.

District Court

The establishment of the District & Sessions Judge Upper Assam District Jorhat was created on the 15th November 1948 and has been made permanent w.e.f the 1st day of April 1953. The first roll of honor of District & Sessions Judge of Assam Valley, Upper Assam Districts, Jorhat District was Mr. S.K Das, MA, BL. Presently, the territorial jurisdiction of the District is extended over 2 sub-divisions namely Majuli Sub-Division and Titabar Sub-Division. Altogether, the establishment of the District & Sessions Judge and the Chief Judicial Magistrate comprise of 15 courts manned by Judicial Officers of various grades. The District & Sessions Judge together with the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court Complex, Jorhat is situated in the heart of the city. The Present District & Sessions Judge as the head of the establishment is Shri Robin Phukan. The present Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jorhat, the head of all the Criminal Courts is Smti. Farhana Sultana.

Transport

Air

, commonly known as Rowriah Airport, is located at Rowriah, which is within the city itself, approximately from the city centre. The airport has daily flights to Kolkata, New Delhi and Guwahati by IndiGo Airlines and it is controlled by the Airports Authority of India.

Rail

The first rail connectivity in Jorhat began in the British era. In 1885, Jorehaut Provincial Railway, a narrow-gauge railway, became operational; it contributed to the growth of the tea industry of Assam.
Jorhat falls under the Tinsukia railway division of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone. The Jorhat Town railway station lies on the Furkating-Jorhat-Mariani branch line, has train services including Guwahati Jorhat Town Jan Shatabdi Express, Guwahati–Mariani Intercity Express, Guwahati–Dibrugarh Intercity Express, Dimapur - Mariani Passenger and Jorhat - Tinsukia Passenger. The Mariani Junction railway station, situated on the Lumding-Dibrugarh section, is the main railway station of Jorhat district and is about from Jorhat.

Road

The Inter State Bus Terminus of Jorhat is located at Tarajan, Kotokipukhuri, in the western part of the city, and provides connectivity to elsewhere in the state and the Northeast with regular buses from ASTC and private operators. Rickshaws and auto-rickshaws are the main mode of public transport within the city.

Waterways

The daily ferry services connect the Nimati ghat with Kamalabari in Majuli.
The Neamati multimodal waterways terminal on Brahmaputra National Waterway 2 in Jorhat district is part of the Bharatmala and Sagarmala projects. There are 19 National Waterways for the Northeast connectivity.

Education and research institutions

Research institutes

Jorhat is part of Jorhat.
Topon Kumar Gogoi of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the current Member of Parliament serving the 17th Lok Sabha from Jorhat, Assam. While Hitendra Nath Goswami of B.J.P. is the incumbent M.L.A. from Jorhat assembly constituency.

Notable people