About Assam Assam State Gazetteer

ASSAM STATE
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL
A. INTRODUCTION :
Assam is situated in the north-east corner of India and is aptly described as the land of the “Red River and
Blue Hills”. The mighty river Brahmaputra dominates the whole of the Assam Valley and the blue hills intersect
most part of the state with their evergreen forest and blue haze. This land is the home to a variety of exotic flora
and fauna including the famous one horned rhinoceros.
Assam is the meeting place of various races and tribes. Long before the coming of the Aryans to India,
millennium before Christ, this ancient land of Assam was inhabited by a people whom the scholars call
“Austrics” or “Austric -Asiatics” as they migrated from the Austronesian and other islands of the Pacific Ocean
to Asiatic mainland. The tribes of the Mongoloid stock probably entered Assam long after the coming of the
Austris. It is said that the Tibeto-Burman tribes of the Mongoloid race were followed by the great Bodo tribe.
The earliest literature of ancient India, The Mahabharata mentions Assam as the land of Mlechchas and Asuras,
that is, a non-Aryan country. In the age of Mahabharata this of the country was called “Pragjyotisa”. It was
however, known as “Kamrupa” to the “Puranas” and the “Tantras”.Ancient pragjyotisa or Kamrupa came into
contact with aryan civilization and culture at a very early age as historically this border land had been the most
easterly acquisition of the early Aryan invaders. In the later part of the twelfth century A.D.,the Muhammadans
embarked on the conquest of the northern India. However,this eastern most land was hardly affected by the
Muslim invaders. In the thirteenth century,the Muhmmadans invaded Kamrupa three times but each time they
were beaten back by the Ahoms Who entered Assam through the eastern gate across the Patkai range and ruled
this state for about six hundred years. The admixture of distinctive and diversified cultures of different races and
tribes who settled in this part of the country built the great Assamese race.
The beginning of Assamese language is traced to the “Charyapadas” dating back to 10 th century.
However,independent identity of Assamese language had been noted by Yuan Chang,the Chinese traveler,as
early as in 7th century. It was during 13th-14th century that Assamese written literature flourished. In the 16 th
century,prose literature reached glorious heights. Modern Assamese literature as is prevalent today has its origin
in the 19th century.
In the 15th century A.D, noted religious reformers, Sri Sankardeva and his close disciple Sri Madhabdeva
brought about a renaissance in the field of religion through their preaching and they were the pioneers in the
field of socio-
ASSAM STATE GAZETTEER 2
Cultural reforms in Assam. They preached Ek Sarana Dharma,which embraced all its devotees irrespective of
caste and creed. The Satra system which is the innovation of Sri Sankardeva, has been occupying the position of
nerve center in Assamese society. The Bhabana, Ankianat, Bargeet, Ojapali, etc. written by these two religious
reformers also contributed immensely to the Assamese literature and culture occupying a distinctive place of
pride in India.
Assam is land of rich potentialities and is full of mineral resources and other raw materials but these
resources and other raw materials have to a great extent remained unexploited. One of the major industries in
Assam is that of the ''one bud and two leaves'',viz,tea industry. It is for this reason for Assam is known as ''the
land of tea''.Assam contributed more than 33% of the world output of tea. Assam is also rich in oil and coal.
Cottage industry is carried in a traditional manner in almost every household. The skill in the at of weaving and
spinning is always held to be one of the highest attainments of an Assamese woman.
Assam promises a bright future provided proper and due impetus is given in harnessing the rich resources
of the State.
(I) Origin of the name Assam :Opinions differ as to the origin of the name Assam. Some think it is an
anglicized form of the Assamese word Asam meaning 'unequal', 'peerless', a term by which the Ahoms or
the Shan invaders were called by the local people. Its several variants such as Asaam, Aasam, Asam and
Acam are noticed in Assamese literature. Some are of the opinion that the word is derived from Asama
in the sense of ''uneven''as distinguished from Samatata or ''even''. It is certain that the name nowhere
occurs prior to the Ahom occupation of the country, and the name was applied to the Ahoms rather than
to their country. E.A. Gait,however, opines that the Ahom called themselves Tai,and it is not clear how
they came to be known by their present name .It is also suggested that the word Shan, or its variants
Syam or Siam are called derived from a common word. The Assamese historical tradition says that the
name Assam in the sense of ''unequal''has been applied to the Tai conquerors by the local tribes when the
former entered the Brahmaputra valley in the thirteen century. Recent researches conducted by scholars
bring to the notice that all the tribes inhabiting the north-western border of Yunnan and northern
Myanmar call the Tai people Asam,Lasam,Sam,Sem,Siem,Sen,Sham,etc. It is supposed that such terms
were also applied to the Ahoms by the local tribes of eastern Assam who lived in close proximity with
those in Myanmar. Mush later,Asam was given a Sanskriti derivation with the meaning
''unequal''or''unrivalled''. Sunity Kumar Chatterjee suggest that Ahom comes from Rhwam, a term by
which the Burmese called the Shan or the Tai people. B. K.Kakati thinks that Asam as applied to the
Shans is a hybrid formation of Assamese private prefix A with The Tai
GENERAL 3
word cham meaning ''to be defeated'' , and hence Acham means ''undefeated''.
(ii) (a) Location:The present Assam State is bounded by latitudes 24 0 580150 N and longitudes 89o 42o 05o
E and 96o 01o '14''E(approx).1 Assam may be divided broadly into two rivers valleys and a reason of hills and
plateaus. They are the Brahmaputra valley, wanted by the Brahmaputra throughout its length from Sadiya in the
north-east to Dhubri in the west, and by its tributaries on both sides of its banks, the Barak valley,mainly watered
by the Barak river and its tributaries,and the hilly tract of Karbi plateau and North Cachar Hills. The
Brahmaputra valley again may be divided into three regions ,the Uttarpar or Uttarkula, the Dakhinpar or
Dakhinakula and the Majuli and other river rineislands formed by the river Brahmaputra. Incidentally,it may be
mentioned here that the length of the Brahmaputra river with in Assam is about 720 kilometres and it is on the
average 8 to 10 kilometres wide. Geographically, Assam may conveniently be divided into two parts-the plains
and the hills. Currently, for administrative purposes the plain portions of the State are divided into twenty one
districts in both the valley and the hill areas into two.
(b) General boundaries :Assam is situated in the north-eastern part of India. It is bounded by two
foreign countries and seven Indian states. To the north of it is Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. To the east there
are Arunachal Pradesh ,Nagaland and Manipur. The southern boundary is skirted by Mizoram and Meghalaya
and to the west there lie. West Bengal ,Bangladesh and Tripura. While describing about the general boundaries of
the present state of Assam it may be stated that it is bounded both by the international and inter-state boundaries.
The international boundary of the State lies in three sectors namely (a) Dhubri-Rangpur sector of Indo -Bangla
boundary-134 km (b) Karimganj-Cachar-Sylhet sector of Indo-Bangla boundary-229 km and © Indo-Bhuta
boundary -269km.Thus ,there are about 532 kilometres of international boundary of Assam.
In respect of the inter-state boundary, the state of Assam has its boundary with West Bengal, Meghalaya,
Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura. The length of state-wise boundaries is as
follows:2-
1. Assam-West Bengal boundary 128.0 km
(a)Kokrajhar-Jalpaigur 48.0km
(b)Dhubri-Cooch-Bihar 80.0km
2. Assam-Meghalaya boundary 723.2km
3.Assam-Nagaland boundary 434.0km
4.Assam-Manipur boundary 132.8 km
5.Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary 704.0 km
1. Source : Survey of India.

2. Source : Assam Survey and (b)Political Department,Civil Secretariat,Dispur,Assam.
6. Assam-Mizoram boundary 130.0 km

7. Assam Tripura boundary 23.3 km
(c) Area:At the time of 1971 census the total area of Assam including Mizoram and excluding
Meghalaya was 99,610 square kilometers. After the creation of Mizoram as a union territory on 21 st January,
1972, Assam has lost an area of 21,087 square kilometers and accordingly its present area is only 78,523 square
kilometres. 3
It may be mentioned here that just before the Census of 1961,the area of Assam according to the
surveyor General of India was 84,895 square miles (2.19.878.05 sq.km) including NEFA (present Arunachal
Pradesh) and Nagaland. Nagaland with an area of 6366 square miles (16487.94sq.km) was formed into a
separate state just before the census of 1961, and NEFA (present Arunachal Pradesh ) which was then a centrally
administered unit with an area of 31438square miles (81,424.42sq km)had been excluded from the jurisdiction of
the Superintendent of census operations,Assam. Thus,Assam proper as censused by the superintendent of census
operations in 1961, consisted of an area of 47091squae miles(1,21,965.69sq.km) according to the surveyor
General of India ,and 47.257.2 square miles (1,22,396.15sq.km) according to the director of survey,Assam.
Accordingly the censused area of 'Assam proper' in 1961 census consisted of 11 districts namely Goalpara,
Kamrup, Darrang , Nagaon ,Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, Cachar, Garo Hills,United Khasi and Jaintia Hills, United
Mikir and North Cachar Hills and Mizo Hills covering an area of 121,965 square kilometers.
But after the creation of Meghalaya as a separate state comprising the districts of United Khasi and Jaintia Hills
and Garo Hills ,and Mizo Hills as a Union Territory,the Surveyor General of India in 1971 found Assam's area
as 78,523 square kilometers.
There were at that time (1971) nine districts in Assam excluding Mizoram. But in late 1971 the then
Lakhimpur district was divided into two administrative districts of Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh, thus bringing the
total number of districts to ten. Subsequently,due to administrative exigencies eight more districts were created
by dividing the larger districts between 1980 and 1985,bringing then the total number of districts in the state to
eighteen. Subsequently between 1985and 1990,six more new districts were created but one (viz.
Pragjyotishpur)was marged with Kamrup with the status of a sub -division. The state,therefore ,has now 23
districts .their areas are as follows:
3.Census India,1971,Assam,Series 3, Part II-A,General Population Tables,p-12.

GENERAL 5
Districts Area (Km2)

1. Dhubri 2838
2. Kokrajhar 3129
3. Bongaigaon 2150
4. Goalpara 1824
5. Barpeta 3245
6. Nalbari 2257
7. Kamrup 4345
8. Darrang 3481
9. Sonitpur 5324
10. Morigaon 1704
11. Nagaon 3831
12. Golaghat 3502
13. Jorhat 2851
14. Sibsagar 2668
15. Lakhimpur 2277
16. Dhemaji 3237
17. Tinsukia 3790
18. Dibrugarh 3381
19. Karbi-Along 10434
20. North Cachar Hills 4888
21. Cachar 3786
22. Karimganj 1809
23. Hailakandi 1327
Total Assam 78438
Source:Director of census operation,Assam.
(d) Population:The total population of Assam as per1991 census data is 22,414,322 of whom
11,657,989 are male and 10,756,333 are female. The following table shows the variation in Assam between 1901
and 1991.
. Population of Assam 1901-1991
Year Population Decade Variation Percentage Decade Variation

(1) (2) (3) (4)
1901 3,289,680 ….......... ….....
1911 3,848,61 +558,937 +16.99
1921 4636980 +788363 +20.48
1931 5560371 +923391 +19.91
1941 6694790 +1134419 +20.40
(1) (2) (3) (4)

1951 8028856 +1334066 +19.93
1961 10837329 +2808473 +34.98
1971 14625152 +3787823 +34.95
1991 22414322 +7789170 +53.26
Source:director of census operation,Assam.
• As there was no census operation in1981 in Assam,the decade variation data are for the period 1971-91.
(iii) History of the State as an administrative unit the changes on its component parts:
(a) Annexation: Prior to the advent of the British, the Ahoms, a Shan tribe ruled over Assam for six
hundred years.''The Ahoms appear to have been a bold race of warriors, who were not afraid to meet the
Mughals face to face in battle and they also processed a highly organised system of Government, differing in
several important particulars from that which prevailed throughout India''4 However,the successors of
Swargadeo Rudra Singha (1696-1714 A.D.),one of the greatest of the Ahom kings, were weak and ease loving
who fell prey to religious and sectarian influence ,and the dynasty began to decay. The acquaintance of British
with Assam dates back to the year 1792 when captain Thomas Welsh was send with a detachment of sepoys to
restore Gourinath Singha who had been dispossessed by the revolt of Krishnanarayan, a Koch prince of Darrang
and religious sect called Moamarias in Upper Assam. Captain Welsh restored Gourinath Singha to his former
position in 1794. The chief of the Moamarias, or Matak tribe inhabiting the Buri Dihing – Brahmaputra
area,however ,maintained his independent political authority under the title of the Bar Senapati down to the type
of the British annexation. Soon the Burmese appeared, apparently on invitation of Badan Chandra, but it fact, for
the purpose of extending the political influence of the Burmese monarch in the western border. the Burmese
came thrice in 1817,1819 and 1821,and the last time they did not go back but fully established themselves. They
carried out atrocities of various nature including plundering and raids on those who resisted or refused to submit
to them. Many leading people fled to neighbouring Bengal and some took shelter in the hills.
In course of the war between the British and the Burmese during 1824-26, Assam was ruined by
depopulation and decay. Assam was occupied by the British and it was retained by them after the Treaty of
Yandabo concluded on 24th February,1826.The British continued to administer Assam under provisional
4. W.W. Hunter; The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. 1, Second Edition.p.343.

GENERAL 7
administration. However,in 1828,Lower Assam was placed under direct British administration. In 1833, the
upper part of the valley, except the Matak and Sadiya area and the tract occupied by the Singpho, was constituted
into a separate principality and placed under Purander Singha, one of the former rulers, on tributary basis with
Jorhat as his capital. He was also placed under several limitation which severely affected his power. Due to
several lapses including his failure of regular payment of annual tribute, his kingdom was annexed to the British
dominion in 1838,and by a proclamation in 1839,it was placed under direct British administration. Purandar
Singha was offered a pension Rs.1000/-per month,but he never accepted it nor did he acquiesce in the
resumption. Upper Assam was formed into two districts viz., Sibpur or Sibsagar (so called from the time the
place was selected as the district headquarters)which included the tract south of the old course of the
Brahmaputra, and Lakhimpur, or the part to the north of the same river.
By the grant of Diwani by the Mughal Emperor in 1765, Sylhet and Goalpara which were parts of Bengal
had come under the jurisdiction of the east India company. After the murder of Kachari Raja Govinda Chandra in
1830, Cachar excluding the North Cachar Hills, had been formally acquired by the British in 1832. It was
formed into a separate district with headquarters at Silchar under the commissioner of Assam till 1836 when it
was transferred to the Decca Division. Later on,the till portion which was enjoyed by the Tularam Senapati, after
his death in 1850 by his sons, was annexed to the British dominion in 1854.The surviving members of Tularam's
family received pensions. During the first few years,the Garo Hills were treated as a part of Goalpara. By
regulation X of 1822, the Garo Hills along with the thanas of Goalpara, Dhubri and Karaibari were separated
from the Bengal district of Rongpur, and formed a special tract called North-East Rongpur. David Scott was
appointed as the first civil Commissioner of the new district. In 1826, it was annexed of Assam .In 1867,
Goalpara with Eastern Duar and the Garo Hills were transferred to the Koch Behar Commissionership. But one
year later while the executive remained with the Koch Behar Commissioner,the judicial administration of
Goalpara and Garo Hills was transferred to Assam. Again in 1869, the Garo Hills was formed into a separate
district with the headquarters and Tura. This measure helped to bring more Garo villages under British control.
In 1874, when Assam was constituted into a chief commissioner's province. Garo Hills district was transferred to
Assam.
The territories of the Khasis were acquired by the British partly by conquest and partly by treaty. At the
beginning of the British occupation of Assam. David Scott entered into negotiations with Tirot Singh, the Syiem
of Nong Khlaw, one of the largest Khasi states, for the construction of a road from Rani in Kamrup to the Surma
Valley. When the construction work was in progress, the Khasis, apprehending British control over their
hills,rose in arms and fell upon the British
party at Nong Khlaw, killing two officers and several others in 1829 . David Scoot narrowly escaped . The
movement soon spread to other states in the Khasi Hills . However , vigorous military operations against the
rebels led many of them to surrender. Tirot Singh surrendered in 1833 and was kept in the Decca jail where he
died in 1834.
One after another, the petty Khasi states engaged themselves with the British in treaty relations. They
came under general control of British political Agent,but the internal administration, except certain serious
offenses,was left to the chiefs. They also acknowledged the right of the paramount power to establish civil and
military cantonments in their territories. In 1835, Nong Khlaw was made the headquarters of the British Political
Agent.In1854, the Khasi Hills were placed under a Junior Assistant Commissioner. In 1864, the headquarters
was shifted to Shillong,which become the capital of Assam in 1871.
Ram Singh, Jaintia Raja concluded a treaty of subordinate alliance with the British at Badarpur just at the
out break of the Anglo-Burmese war. After the war,its relation with the British deteriorated due to the
establishment of an outpost at Chaparmukh within the British district of Nagaon and also capture and
immolation of three British subjects at the shrine of Goddess Kali by the Raja Gobha,a dependent of Jaintia.
While the British persistence for the surrender of the culprits was in progress, Ram Singh died and was
succeeded by Rajendra Singh. Latters evasion to the demand led the British to deprive him of the plains of
Jaintia by a proclamation issued in March 1835.This part was annexed to the British district of Sylhet, and
Gobha was joined to Nagaon. On Rajendra Singhs refusal to retain in possession the hilly tract which yielded
little income,it was also placed under the British administration. The Jaintia Raja retired to Sylhet with a
pension. The Jaintias, or the Syntengs revolved in 1860 for the imposition of house tax,but it was suppressed.
Two years later in 1862 there was another widespread rebellion due to the imposition of income tax. Thereafter
the Jaintia Hills were formed into a sub-division of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills district.
The annexation of Naga Hills into the British territory was gradual and it took may years to consolidate the
British rule over these hills. The first direct contact with the Angami Nagas dates back to 1832 when capt.
Jenkins and capt. Pemberton passed through their country on a survey. The Angamis carried on frequent raids on
North Cachar. The British conducted several expedition against them between 1835 and 1851. Lord Dalhousie's
policy on non-interference did not work, and Angami raids continued. In order to control the Angami raids more
effectively,the North Cachar sub-division was created. Still troubles continued,and at last it was decided to
reduce the Angamis, the north Cachar sub-division was abolished and the Naga Hills District was created with
its headquarters at Samagutting in the Angami country. In 1875,the areas of the Lotha Nagas were
GENERAL 9
annexed, and a British officer was posted at Wokha. In 1878,the headquarters of the Naga Hills district was
shifted to Kohima, and in 1881it was finally decided to permanently occupy the hills,and the district boundary
was notified in July, 1882.
Soon after the Yandabo treaty, the British made an agreement in 1826with the Bar Senapati of the Mataks,
allowing him to have control over his subjects on certain conditions .On the death of Bar Senapati in 1839, the
British sought to impose new terms on the new chief Maju Gohain. But on this failure to accept the terms and
conditions of the British, Captain Hemilton Vetch, the British representative assumed direct management of the
entire Matak country. The British finding the Khamtis in possession of Sadiya and its surrounding country, made
an agreement with the Khamti chief recognizing him on certain conditions. In 1839,the Khamtis rose in revolt
killing a number of officers and Sepoys including Adam White,the Political Agent of Upper Assam. In
1842,both these tracts were added to the Lakhimpur district with its headquarters at Dibrugarh. The routes or
passes through which the hill tribes had their access to the plains of Assam were generally known as Duars.
These are placed under officials called Duarias appointed by the Ahom kings. For the use of these, the tribes had
to pay annually certain articles in fixed quantity. These duars were integral parts of Assam and were held in
subjection by the Ahom kings. But during the declining stages of the Ahom rule,the duars on the Bhutan border
were occupied the Bhutias on payment of tribute in kind to the Ahom king. Among these included gold-
dust,ponies,musk,cow-tails,swords,blankets and some amount in cash. With the taking over of the Ahom
territories by the British,the question of administration of the duars also came in. There appeared
misunderstanding among the Bhutias as to the payment of tribute to the British. The annexation of two duars
viz.,Kuriapara and Charduar was promoted by the necessity of maintaining peace in the border areas of British
Darrang. Further,plunder and kidnapping of plainsmen by the Bhutias continued which ultimately compelled the
British to annex the duars,
Thus in course of three decades, i.e.,from 1824 to 1854,the different parts of Brahmaputra and Surma
valleys were annexed to the British dominions.
The Mizo district earlier known as the Lushai Hills was annexed after several expeditions to British
dominion in 1891. The North Lushai Hills was placed under the administrative control of Government of
Assam,while the South Lushai Hills was under the Government of Bengal. The Chin-Lushai Conference, 1898,
amalgamated the North and South Lushai Hills as one district and placed under the charge of one Superintendent
under the administrative control of the Chief Commissioner of Assam. There was no change in the territory of
the province upto 1905.
In 1930, one more area known as the Lakher land in the extreme south
of the Lushai Hills was added to the already administered district. Under the provisions of the Government of
India act,1935, Lushai Hills district was, however, declared to be excluded from the operations of the provincial
legislature.
(b) Administrative Reorganisation by the British:After annexation and consolidation of the British rule
in Assam a number of changes were affected in the administrative sphere like the formation of districts and sub-
divisions in the province. In 1834,the British portion of the Brahmaputra valley was divided into four districts,
viz.,Goalpara, Kamrup, Darrang (including Biswanath) and Nagaon. After the annexation of popular Singha's
dominion of Upper Assam in 1839, it was constituted into two districts, e.g., Sibsagar and Lakhimpur. At that
time Guwahati continued to be the headquarters of the district of Kamrupas well as of the Commissioner of
Assam. Goalpara, including the Garo Hills but excluding the Eastern Duars was originally administered from
Rangpur and naturally formed part of the province of Bengal. With the enactment of regulation X of 1822, it was
cut off from Rangpur and formed into a separate district with headquarters at Goalpara .Goalpara came under the
ordinary jurisdiction of Commissioner of Assam since the tract was taken from the Burmese in 1826.
On the formation of Bengal Commissionership of Cooch Behar, the Eastern Duars was included into this
Commissionership in 1867 . In 1869 , the Garo Hills was constituted into a separate district.
In 1874, the districts of the Brahmaputra Valley and adjacent hills together with Cachar and Sylhet were
constituted into a separate Province of Assam under a Chief Commissioner. In carrying out the administration of
the vast territory under the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal immense difficulties were experienced. To ease the
difficulties of administration, in 1903, it was decided to add to the small province of Assam the eastern portion
of its unwieldy neighbour and to consolidate these territories under a Lieutenant-Governor. In October 1905,
Assam was amalgamated with the districts of Dacca, Chitagong, Rajshahi Commissionership of Bengal with the
exclusion of Darjeeling district and in addition of Malda to from a new province,known as province of Eastern
Bengal and Assam with an area of 106,540 sq. mile (275,937.6sq.km) and a population of 31 million .This
change was ,however, of very short duration. The Province of Eastern Bengal and Assam was again broken up
on 1st April , 1912 when the Eastern Bengal districts were united with the Bengal Commissionership of
Burdwan to from the Presidency of Bengal under a Governor-in -council. Bihar, Chota Nagpur and Orissa were
formed into a separate province,while the old province of Assam was reconstituted under a Chief
Commissioner .The revival of Chief Commissionership came into existence on 1 st April,1912.This arrangement
continued till 1921,when Assam was declared a Governor's province.
The census report, 1921 records that on the break up of Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1912, Assam reverted
to its former status of a Chief Commissionership,
GENERAL 11
but on January 3rd-1921 it was constituted a Governor's province,with an Executive Council and Ministers, the
latter being responsible to legislative council with an elected majority.
The area administered by the Chief Commissioner of Assam covered a surveyed area of 61471 square
miles(159209.88sq.km)which was 5228square miles(13695.92 sq km)in excess of that reported in 1901. In the
census report on Assam,1911, it is recorded that the increase was entirely due to the correction of error in the
area of Manipur state. In British territory, new surveys shows an increase of only 56 square miles(145.04sq.km).
Besides, there was the unsurveyed country of the Eastern Angamis and Semas which was added to the Naga
Hills in 1901.
The province is usually divided into three divisions, i.e.,the Brahmaputra Valley, the Surma(Barak)Valley
and the Hills. The Brahmaputra Valley and Surma Valley are separated from each other by the Assam range
which projects westward from the Hills on the Eastern border. The Valley of the Brahmaputra on the north is an
alluvial plain about 730 km. In length and 80 km. in average breadth. Out of the two districts of the Surma
Valley (including Sylhet in the per-partition period) Cachar formed the Eastern Angel and contained one sub-
division in the hills while Sylhet was wide and flat.
During the period between 1911-21, two frontier tracts, viz, Sadiya and Balipara were separated from the
Assam Valley Division. These two tracts were constituted in 1912 and 1914 from parts of the Lakhimpur and
Darrang districts and for administration purposes they were put in charge of Political Officers directly under the
local Government.
Again during the period between 1921-31,some 900 square miles (2304sqare kilometer)of sparsely populated
and previously unadministered country on the borders of Naga Hills, the Lushai Hills and Sadiya frontier Tract
were incorporated within the province of Assam. For the first time for Census operation in 1931, the Khasi states
had been shown separately from the British portion of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills district. During this decade,
two noteworthy changes, namely, the transfer of the Digar Mouza from the Naga Hills to the North Cachar sub-
division and some Abor villages from Lakhimpur to Sadiya frontier were effected.
The following statement shows the area and population of Assam (division wise) as recorded in the census
report of 1911.The area and population of Manipur State as per census of 1921 and 1931 are also shown
separately in the table
1911 Census
Name of State /division Area in sq.mile Area in sq km. Population
Assam 61,471 159,209,879 7,059,857
Brahmaputra Valley 24,598 63,708.82 3,108,669
Surma Valley(including Sylhet) 7,247 18,769.73 2,942,839
Hills 9,626 24,931.34 1,008,350
1921 Census
Name of State /division Area in sq.mile Area in sq km. Population
Assam 61,471 159,209.879 7,990,248
Surma Valley Division 25,317 65,571,029 357,198
Assam Valley Division 26,797 69,404.23 3,991,682
Frontier Tracts 911 261.589 394,016
Manipur State 8456 21901.04 394,016
1931 Census
Assam 67,334 174,395.06 9,247,857
Surma Valley & Hills Division
including Khasi states 27,870 72,183.30 3,888,047
Assam Valley Division 27,084 70,147.56 4,855,711
Frontier Tracts 3,760 9,738.4 58,493
Manipur State 8,620 22,325.8 445,606
At the time of 1961 Census, Assam covered an area of 85,012 square miles (220,181 sq.km) .It may,
however, be mentioned here that after Independence radical changes took place in Assam in respect of its area
and population. In July 1947,on the strength of 'Referendum' the overwhelmingly Muslim majority district of
Sylhet with an area of 5,478 square miles (14,188.02sq.km) and a population of 3116,602 went to Pakistan.
The Sylhet Referendum was followed by the Radeliffe Award according to which the district of Sylhet
went to East Pakistan with the exception of the three thanas of Badarpur (47 square miles or 121.73 sq. km.),
Ratabari (240square miles or 717.43 sq.km.) and a portion of the Karimganj thana (145 square miles or375.55
sq.km).Thus, after the Partition in 1947, a total area of 709 square miles (1,836.31 sq. km) and a population of
291,320 persons of the Sylhet District of Surma Valley were retained in Assam and joined with the old district
of Cachar forming a new sub -division, vis ., Karimganj. Consequently,the old province of Assam lost almost the
whole district of Sylhet, where out of total 5,478 square miles (14,188.02sq.km.) an area involving 4,769 square
miles (12,351.71 sq.km.) went in favour of Pakistan.
GENERAL 13
The unification of the country at the initiative of late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had also its repercussion in
Assam .As per negotiations with Patel . The petty States in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills numbering twenty five
and covering an area of 3,788square miles (9811 sq. km.) with a population of 213,586 according to 1941
Census were merged with the district of Khasi and Jaintia Hills at the inauguration of the Republic of India on
26thJanuary, 1950, forming the new enlarged administrative district of the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills . The
area of Assam in 1941 was 67,359 sq.miles (1,74,459.81 sq. km) against 85,012 square miles (220,181 sq. km)
as determined by the Surveyor-General of India in 1951.
The 1941 figure, however, includes the area of entire Sylhet, 5,478 square miles (14,188 sq, km.) as well
as Manipur, 8,620 sq. miles (22,325.8 sq. km).As the 1951 figure excludes Manipur and includes, as shown
above, only 709 square miles (1836,31 sq. km.) of the old district of Sylhet, the comparable figure for Assam for
1941 should have been 53,970 square miles (1,39,782.3 sq. km) only. This disparity in the area figure between
1941 and 1951 census by the huge margin of 31,042 square miles (80,398.77 sq. km) is due to the fact that the
1951 figure showed the total area of the State both for the regularly censused and non-censused part, while the
1941 figure applies only to the censused portions and omits the unlicensed area of the State. The other fact is that
in the tow frontier tracts, namely the Sadiya Frontier and the Balipara Frontier,the areas locally determined had
been adopted in the 1941 census. But the Survey of India's figures relate to the entire area of the tracts and not to
the administered and censused areas alone. As such,there was enormous difference between the actual mapped
area and the administered area. The census of 1941 covered only 3,880square miles(10049.2 sq. km)of these two
tracts. It appears that the said census ignored a major portion of these two tracts (28,180 square miles or
72,986.2sq.km)which was not regularly censused in that year.
The 1941 census totally ignored the census operation in the Naga Tribal areas whereas 1951 census
covered an area of 3086.4 square miles (5403.77sq.km)in the said region.
R.B. Vaghaiwalla, Superintendent of Census Operations,opines that these two factors as mentioned above,
are alone responsible for a difference of 30,283 square miles (78432.7 sq.km) between the 1941 and 1951 area
figures against the total difference of 31,036 square miles (80,383,23 sq.km).The remaining difference of 753
square miles (1950.27 sq.km)is mainly due to the more exact determination by the Survey of India of the area
figures for all the districts of Assam in general and for the hill tracts of the North East Frontier Agency (now
Arunachal Pradesh) in particular.5
5. Census of India,1951,Volume XII,Assam, Manipur and Tripura,Part I A Report,p-3

ASSAM STATE GEZETTEER 14
During the decade of 1941-51, there was also a lot of changes in the areas of individual districts and such
changes have been discussed in detail in the concerning districts of the State.
(c)Constitution and reconstitution of the individual districts during the decades of 1941-1961 are as
follows :
Cachar :After partition of Sylhet in 1947, only 709 square miles (1,836.31sq.km) remained with Assam
and it was formed into a new sub-division of Karimganj with headquarters at Karimganj and for administrative
purpose the same was tagged with Cachar. While tracing the modern history of Cachar it may be mentioned here
that Cachar along with Sylhet district was tagged to the newly annexed Assam in 1874 by the British. Likewise
on the formation of the new district of United Mikir and North Cachar during the decade, Cachar lost its old sub-
division of North Cachar Hills when an area of 1,896.8 sq.miles (4,912 sq.km)and a population of 37,361 as per
1941 census.
Darrang: On 1st March 1951,the plains portion of the Balipara Frontier Tract has been added to the district of
Darrang(undived).The whole area of the Balipara Frontier Tract was not covered by census and only 531.2
square miles (1375.8 sq.km)were covered in the said census operation.
Nagaon:During the period 1941-51,a part of the Mikir Hills Excluded Area previously tagged with a
Nagaon district (undivided)had been separated to form the new district of United Mikir and N.C.Hills. As a
result Nagaon had lost an area of 1,715.9 square miles (4,444.7 sq.km).
Sibsagar:Before the formation of the United Mikir and the N.C. Hills district in 1951, an area known as the
Mikir Hills Excluded Area was tagged with Golaghat sub-division of Sibsagar district (undivided) since
separated constituted 1,676.3 square miles (4341.61 sq.km).
Lakhimpur :During the decade of 1941-51 a new tract as known as the Tirap Frontier tract was constituted
by excluding 10.3 square miles (26.68 kms) from the undivided Lakhimpur district and joining them with a
portion of the old Sadiya Frontier Tract and a portion of the Naga Tribal Area. In 1951,the plains portion of the
Mishmi Hills (391.7 square miles or 1014.5 sq.km), the Abor Hills (273.9 sq.miles or 709.4 sq.km) and the
Tirap Frontier tract were transferred to the Lakhimpur district. As a consequence ,Lakhimpur District
(undivided)got a total 790.4 square miles (2,047.136 sq.km)in 1951.
United Khasi and Jaintia Hills District (now under Meghalaya):After the incorporation of an area of 3,788
square miles (9,810.92 sq.km) of former Khasi state on 26th January 1950,with the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills
District,the total area of the district increased to 5,533 square miles (14,330.47 sq.km). On the contrary, the
district lost an area of 603.2 square miles (1,562.29 sq.km),i.e., Block1 and Block 11 of Jowai sub-division with
a population of 22,554 which had been transferred to the newly created United Mikir and N.C.Hills
GENERAL 15
District the period between 1951 to 1961.
United Mikir and North Cachar Hills : A new district known as the United Mikir and North Cachar Hills was
formed between 1951 and 1961 by transferring the whole of the North Cachar Hills sub division from Cachar
and by carving out the Mikir Hills Excluded Area of Nagaon district,the Mikir Hills Excluded Area of Sibsagar
district (Golaghat sub-division)and Block 1 and 11 of Jowai sub-division. Till November,1957,the areas
mentioned above remained under the jurisdiction of the Deputy Commissioners of the parent districts. The said
new administrative came into existence with effect from 7 th November ,1951.The total area of the district
constituted was 5,892.2 square miles (15,260.798 sq.km). After the formation of the said district,the area of
Sibsagar , Nagaon. United Khasi and Jaintia Hills and Cachar District were reduced.
In the next decade of 1961-1971,the district has been bifurcated again and formed into two separate
districts. Viz., Mikir Hills (now Karbi Along)and north Cachar Hills district.
Mishmi Hills: Mishmi Hills originally constituted the Sadiya sub-division of the old Sadiya Frontier tract of
1941 census. In July 1948,it was made an independent district in charge of Political Officer. After 1 st March 1951
an area of 391.7 sq .miles (1014.5 sq.km) of the plains portion of the tract had been joined with Lakhimpur
district.
Abor Hills: Like the Mushmi Hills, the Abor Hills too originally formed a part of the old Sadiya Frontier
Tract of 1941 census. In July, 1948, the plains portion of the Abor Hills measuring an area of 273.9 sq.miles
(709.3 sq.km) was made an independent district In charge of a Political Officer .After 1 st March,1951,the said
area had been joined with Lakhimpur district.
Tirap Frontier Tract:During period of 1941-1951,a new tract known as the Tirap Frontier Tract was
constituted by excluding 103 square miles (266.769sq.km) from Lakhimpur district and joining them with a
portion of a Naga Tribal Area.
Balipara Frontier Tract :The plains portion of the old Balipara Frontier tract measuring an area of 531.2
square miles (1,375.808 sq.km) had been transferred to the Darrang district after 1 st March ,1951.
Naga Tribal Area :This new political area did not feature at all in the 1941 census. Covering an area of
2,086.4 square miles (5,403.77 sq.km),at the time of 1951 census it was one of the parts B Tribal Areas of Assam
included in paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
Kamrup : In case of the undivided district of Kamrup, there was practically no change in its area and
boundary from 1901 to 1941.But in 1951 by an enactment in the Parliament known as the Assam (Allocation of
boundaries)Act,1951,a strip of territory measuring 32.8 square miles (85.952 sq.km)of Kamrup district was
ceded to the Government of Bhutan on 1st September,1951.
Goalpara:No change area and boundary of the undivided district took place during the post-independence
period.
Formation of Nagaland :The Naga Hills district and the former Tuensang division of the North East
Frontier Agency were constituted into a separate state known as Nagaland in 1960. The new state was
inaugurated on December, 1963, by the then president of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan.
The NEFA (present Arunachal) though from the point of geography and the Constitution of India was a part
of Assam,was treated as a separate area for the purpose of the 1961 census. Accordingly the area of Assam for
the 1961 census was 47,091 square miles (1,21,965.65 sq.km) excluding NEFA and Nagaland. Under section 7
of the North Eastern Area (Re-organisation) Act, 1971, the entire area of Arunachal was constituted as a Union
Territory and named Arunachal Pradesh which came into existence on 21 st January,1972.
Formation of Meghalaya: The formation of Meghalaya as a separate state is an important change in respect
of the area and boundary of Assam,Meghalaya as a separate state with the Union of India has been created by
transferring two hill districts,viz., Khasi and Jaintia Hills. According to 1961 census, the area covered by these
two districts were 5,546 sq. miles (14,364.14sq.km) and 3,152 square miles (8,163.68 sq.km) respectively.
Thus,on the formation of Meghalaya as a separate state Assam lost an area of 8,698 square miles (22,527.82
sq.km), and the new state came into being with effect from 1 st April,1970.
Mizo Hills (Mizoram):The formation of Mizo Hills as a centrally administered territory is yet another
notable landslide in respect of the area of Assam. Under section 8 of the North Eastern Areas (Re-organisation)
Act,1971, the territories of Mizoram were constituted a Union Territory under the name Mizoram which came
into existence on 1st January.1972. Mr. E.H. Pakyntein, Superintendent of Census Operations, Assam, recorded
the position and area in the ''District Census Hand Book, Mizo Hills'',1961 as follows ''The Mizo District
previously known as the Lushai Hills,is situated at the southernmost corner of Assam,lying between 21o50o'and
24o30' North and 92o 20' and 93o 20'East. The Tropic of Cancer runs through the district. It covers an area of
8,134 square miles (21,069 sq.km)and is the largest district of Assam. It is bounded on the North by Cachar
district and Manipur state , on the East and the South by Chin Hills and the West by Chittagong Hills tract of
East Pakistan and the Tripura State''
The erosion (separation) of the areas of modern Assam came along with the independence of the country.
There was also practically no change in boundaries in areas of Assam from 1901 to 1941.Thus, partition of
Sylhet in 1947, and subsequently separation of Naga Hills, Khasi and Jaintia Hills, Garo Hills, and the Mizo
Hills reduced the area of Assam to a great extent and in
GENERAL 17
1991 census,the area of Assam was found to be reduced to 78,523 square kilometers with twenty three districts.
(iv) Divisions, Districts and Sub-divisions: From the point of view of administration, Assam is divided into
tow general divisions (both Brahmaputra Barak valleys) covers 63,301 square kilometres and the Hills Division
comprise 15,222 square kilometres. Again, the Brahmaputra valley covers the major portion of the plains (area:
56,339 square kilometres ) in the whole state of Assam. The Barak valley representing three districts of Cachar,
Karimganj and Hailakandi covers only 6,962 square kilometres . Recently, the plain Division has been
bifurcated into tow Divisions, viz., Lower Assam and Upper Assam.
It has been noted in the census report Assam,1971 that there was no change in the boundaries of areas of
the districts of Assam during the decade 1961-1971 except in the case of the old United Mikir and North Cachar
Hills district which was bifurcated and formed into two separate district known as the Mikir Hills (Karbi Along)
and North Cachar Hills district was formed with effect from 2 nd February, 1970 (Govt. of Assam notification
No.AAP.134/68/19dated 30th January1970) comprising the whole of North Cachar Hills subdivision of the old
United Mikir and N.C.Hills district. The remaining portion of the district,namely,Mikir Hills sub-division,was
renamed as Mikir Hills district (Govt. of Assam notification No. AAP.134/68/22 dated 11 th February,1970). After
six years of the formation of the Mikir Hills district it was renamed as Karbi Along as mentioned above (Govt of
Assam notification No. AAD/R/115/74/47 dated 14th October 1976).
Besides,the new administrative districts of Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh were constituted on 2 nd
October,1971 (Govt of Assam notification No. AAP.110/70/165 dated 22 nd September,1971) by bifurcating the
old Lakhimpur district.
At the beginning of the nineteen eighties there were in Assam only eight plain districts and to hill
districts .The district were (1) Lakhimpur, H.Q. Lakhimpur, (2) Dibrugarh.H.Q. Dibrugarh,(3) Sibsagar,
H.Q.Jorhat, (4) Nagaon, H.Q.Nagaon, (5) Darrang, H.Q.Tezpur, (6) Kamrup, H.Q.Guwahati,(7) Goalpra,
H.Q.Dhubri, (8) Cachar H.Q.Silchar, (9)Karbi Along, H.Q.Diphu and (10) North Cachar Hills,H.Q. Haflong (the
last two are hills districts).For administrative conveniences these ten districts were divided into twenty district
were divided into 26 sub-divisions.
New Districts and Sub-divisions : In order to bring the administration nearer to the people, most of the
districts of the British period were bifurcated and as a result of this administrative reorganisation, the number of
districts and sub-divisions in the State as in August, 1985 came to be 18 and 35 respectively. Administrative
exigencies, however, necessitated the creation of some more districts and six new districts were further created
between 1985 and 1991, while one, created earlier (Pragjyotishpur) was converted into a sub-division and
merged
with Kamrup district .Thus, at present (1992) there are 23 districts and 48 sub-divisions in Assam. An analysis of
the bifurcation / creation of new districts reveals that from the old (A) Kamrup district alone four districts were
created , three in 1983 and one in 1985.They are (1)Kamrup, headquarters at Guwahati, (2)Barpeta ,
headquarters at Barpeta and (3)Nalbari, headquarters at Nalbari. The fourth district, Pragjyotishpur, created for
the purpose of locating the then purposed state capital,with headquarters at Chandrapur, was subsequently
converted into a sub-division of Kamrup district as stared earlier. Similarly,the following old district were
reconstituted into a number of new district as shown:(B)Goalpara district into four: (1)Goalpara, headquarters at
Goalpara, (2)Dhubri headquarters at Dhubri, (3)Kokrajhar, headquarters at Kokrajhar and (4)Bongaigaon,
headquarters at Bongaigaon, (C)Cachar district into three : (1)Cachar, headquarters at Silchar, (2)Karimganj,
headquarters at Karimganj and (3)Hailakandi, headquarters at Hailakandi. (D)Darrang district into two :-
(1)Sonitpur , headquarters at Tezpur and (2)Darrang, headquarters at Mangaldoi.(E)Sibsagar district into three :
(1)Sibsagar headquarters at Sibsagar,(2) Jorhat, headquarters at Jorhat,and(3)Golaghat, headquarters at
Golaghat.(F)Dibrugarh district into two:(1)Dibrugarh, headquarters at Dibrugarh and Tinsukia, headquarters at
Tinsukia.(G)Lakhimpur district into two :(1)Lakhimpur, headquarters at North Lakhimpur and (2)Dhemaji
headquarters at Dhemaji,and (H)Nowgong district into two :(1)Nagaon , headquarters at Nagaon and
(2)Morigaon, headquarters at Morigaon .It was only Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills district that were left
untouched.
The following table shows name,area,population and sub-divisions of the reconstituted districts of the
state as in 1991.
District Area (sq.km) Population Sub-division

(1) (2) (3) (4)
1.Dhubri 2838 13,32,475 1.Dhubri
2.Bilasipara
3.South Salmara-Mankachar
2.Kokrajhar 3129 8,00,659 1.Kokrajhar
2.Gossaigaon
3.Bongaigaon 2510 8,07,523 1.Bongaigaon
2.Bijni
3.Abhayapuri
4. Goalpara 1824 6,68,138 1. Goalpara
5.Barpeta 3245 13,85,659 1. Barpeta
2. Bajali
6.Nalbari 2257 10,16,390 1. Nalbari
GENERAL 19
(1) (2) (3) (4)

7.Kamrup 4345 20,00,071 1. Guwahati
2. Rangia
3. Pragjyotishpur
8.Darrang 3481 12,98,860 1. Mangaldoi
2. Udalguri
9.Sonitpur 5324 14,24,287 1. Tezpur
2. Biswanath
10.Lakhimpur 2277 7,51,517 1. Lakhimpur
2. Dhakuakhana
11.Dhemaji 3237 4,78,830 1. Dhemaji
2. Jonai
12.Marigaon 1704 6,39,682 1. Mariagaon
13.Nagaon 3831 18,93,171 1. Nagaon
2. Kaliabar
3. Hojai
14.Golaghat 3502 8,28,096 1. Golaghat
2. Bokakhat
3. Dhansiri
15.Jorhat 2851 8,71,206 1. Jorhat
2. Majuli
16.Sibsagar 2668 9,07,983 1.Sibsagar
2.Charaideo
3.Nazira
17.Dibrugarh 3381 10,42,457 1.Dibrugarh
18.Tinsukia 3790 9,62,298 1.Tinsukia
2.Sadiya
3.Margherita
19.Karbi Anglong 10434 6,62,723 1.Diphu
2.Bokajan
3.Hamren
20.N.C.Hills 4888 1,50.801 1.Haflong
2.Maibong
21.Karimganj 1809 8,27,063 1.Karimganj
22.Hailakndi 1327 4,49,048 1.Hailakandi
23.Cachar 3786 12,15,385 1.Silchar
2.Lakhimpur
78438 22,414,322 48 Sub-divisions
Source : Direct of census Operations,Assam.

The table above shows that from the view point of area, Karbi Anglong is the largest district with an area
of 10434 km. The district is covered mostly by plateaus and hills. The largest plains district is Sonitpur with an
area of 5324km. Hailakandi is the smallest district in Assam having an area of 1327km. From the view point of
population as per 1991 census Kamrup is the most populous district (2,000,071) followed closely by Nagaon
(1,893,171).Other populous districts are Sonitpur (1,424.287), Barpeta (1,385.659), Dhubri (1,332,475), Darang
(1,298,860), Dibrugarh (1,042,457) and Nalbari (1,016,390). Each of the remaining district has a population of
less than a million. North Cachar Hills district is the least populous one with 150,801 souls as per census of
1991.
B.Topography:
Topographically Assam is divided into two major divisions,i.e.,the plains and the hills. The plains are
further divided into two units,the Brahmaputra Plain and the Barak Plain. The two plains are separated by the
Karbi Plateaus and the North Cachar Hills. Similarly,the hills can also be divided into two units the Karbi
Plateaus and the North Cachar hills. While the Karbi Plateaus are genetically Plateaus belonging to the Deccan
Plateaus, the North Cachar hills are folded hills genetically akin to the Himalayas. Thus,it is seen that Assam can
be topographically divided into (a)the Brahmaputra plain, (b)the Cachar Plain, (c)the Karbi Plateaus and (d)the
North Cachar Hills. These four topographic units are briefly described below:
(a)The Brahmaputra Plain: The Brahmaputra Plain(56,339 km2)is largely an alluvial plain with a length
of about 772.45 km. and an average width of about 80.47 km. It is bounded on the north by the Bhutan and
Arunachal Himalayas,on the east by the hills of the Patkai and its branches lying in Arunachal and on the south
by the hills of Nagaland and the Plateaus of Karbi and Meghalaya. In its upper part,the plain runs from the north-
east to the south-west, but in the lower part it rubs due east-west. The plain is at its widest in the upper part
where it is about 90 km, and narrowest in the middle part where the Karbi Plateau projects north ward to the
bank of the Brahmaputra at Burapahar, constricting the plain to a mere 50km.width. 6Towards the west, the plain
widens to became narrow again near Guwahati and opens up further west as the Garo hills of the Meghalaya
Plateaus recedes southward. The Himalayan foothill margin in the north of the plain is fairly regular except
where the plain embankments along the large tributaries like the Subansiri, Jia Bharali, Pagladia, etc.,enter into
the mountain tract .The southern margin is, however, irregular with river valley entering deep
6. Tather M.: Physiographic Frame of N.E. India,'Geography of Ne India,NEn.Geography,

Vol. 18,Nos 1&2,1986,G.U.
GENERAL 21
into the hills and Plateaus. For example,the plain extends eastward along the Buridihing valley upto as far east as
Naw Dapha in Arunachal. Similarly, the Dhansiri, the Kapili and the Kulsi also have opened up valleys in the
Plateaus widening the scope of the plain.
The plain as a whole slopes down towards south-west in the upper part and west in the middle and lower
parts. But the gradient is extremely gentle. For example, the altitude of Kobo near the trijunction of the Dihang,
Dibang and Luhit is 130 m. Then,96 km downstream at Dibrugarh the altitude is 103.6,m .Similarly, the altitude
of Guwahati, Goalpara and Dhubri are only 50.5 m, 36.9 m and 27.8 m respectively. The fall of gradient is, as
such, only 13 cm per km on the average. Such a low gradient is one of the principal causes of frequent
occurrence of floods in the plains following heavy and continuous deluge in the season of south-west monsoon.
An interesting feature of the Plain is the presence of a series of hillocks on either bank of the
Brahmaputra, especially in its middle and lower parts. These hillocks are made of old granitic and gneissic rocks
and geologically part of the Karbi-Meghalaya Plateau. Looked from the east the hillocks begin to appear from
Negheriting westward. Next hillock is seen at Biswanath in the north bank. Opposite to these hillocks,there are
the ones in and around Tezpur town in the north bank like the Bhomaraguri, Agnipath, Bamuni Pahar, Da
Parbatia, etc. Further west in the north bank there are Singari and Kurua hills and Mayang hills in the south
bank. In Kamrup district, the Meghalaya Plateau skirts the Brahmaputra, especially near Guwahati and some of
the hillocks and found scattered even in the bed of the river and in the north bank. The hills from Chandrapur to
Nilachal in the south bank, Umananda, Karmanasha, etc, in the river bed and Mandakata-Changsari, Agaithuri,
Garurachal, Barambai,and Hatimura in the north bank are such outcrops of the Meghalaya Plateau. Further west
there are Dakhala and Nagarbera in Kamrup district in the south bank. Almost opposite to Nagarbera in the north
bank there are Phulara, Chatala and Baghbor hillocks in Barpeta district,In Goalpara district,the important river
bank hillocks are Hoolookauda and Pancharatna in an around Goal para town. Opposite to these hillocks in the
north bank,there are hillocks in Bongaigaon district in an around Jogighopa township. It is interesting to note
that some of such isolated hillocks are found to be scattered further north in the Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar
districts reaching as far north as the railway line. Similar isolated hillocks are seen in Dhubri district a
Rangamati and Mankachar. All the hillocks have their underground link with the Karbi-Meghalaya plateau and
apparently seen to stand out and the flat alluvial plan.
Although the Brahmaputra plain is by and large flat,it has some measure of topographic variation. In the
northern part along the Himalayan foothill, there is a narrow high zone made up of coarse river deposits. This
zone is known
as the Bhabar Zone and supports dense forest. To the south of the Bhabar Zone and parallel to it,there lies the flat
Tarai zone where the where the ground remains damp and sometimes springs ooze out. The Tarai zone is covered
by tall grasses and was malarial in the past. To the south of the Tarai zone there lies a strip of relatively firm
ground made of silty loam. It is this zone on which density of population is very high. This zone also holds most
of the towns and commercial centres. Besides, the railway line and national highway pass over this strip that
extends east-west. This trip may be refereed to as the built-up zone. To the south of this zone lies the following
flood plain of the Brahmaputra supporting a series of beels,marshes and swamps. While the bed of the
Brahmaputra itself is more than 3 km wide on the overage its floods-plain extends to a distance of 5 km to 10 km
on each bank As the Brahmaputra is a braiding river,its water flows through several winding channels within its
bed separated by patches of sandy shoals. Thus many riverine islands,some temporary and some semi
permanent,locally known as chaparies and chars come into being.
The south bank plain is irregular in width, being very width in the upper part,moderately wide in the
Nagaon and constricted westward. However,along the foothill region in the south-bank there are higher grounds
known as terraces created by erosional activities of the rivers. These terraces are densely forested or occupied by
the tea gardens in the upper part and by deciduous forest and dispersed settlements in the lower part. To the north
of the belt of terraces,there lies a built-up zone(as in the north bank)where again settlements,roads,railways and
towns and commercial centers are frequent. This zone to the north is replaced by the Brahmaputra flood-plain as
described earlier. The isolated river-bank hillocks are mostly confined to the flood-plain zone.
(B)The Barak Plain:Like the Brahmaputra Plain the Barak Plain is also of alluvial origin. It is the
headward part of the larger Barak-Surma-Meghna Plain,the major part of which now falls in Bangladesh. It is
surrounded in the north by the North Cachar hills, in the east by the Manipur hills and in the south by the
Mizoram hills. It is open only to the west. The plain is about 85 km long from the east to the west and about 70
km wide wide and the average from the north to the south. Total area of the plain is about 6962 km. The gradient
of the plain from the east to the west is very low(from 75m to 51m)and the river Barak flows over it sluggishly
through an extremely meandering course.
The Barak plain is characterised by the presence of scattered isolated low hillocks locally known as
rilas. Their height rarely exceeds 100 m. These rilas are geologically same as the hills of North Cachar or
Mizoram. The middle part of the Barak plain through which the Barak flows is the lowest part and contains
7. Taher. M : Physiographic Framework of North East India,North Eastern Geography,Vol – 18

No. 1—2,1986,Guwahtai.
GENERAL 23
numerous swamps or 'bills and jhils.
(c)The Karbi Plateau :The hills and plateaus of Assam now covers two administrative districts,viz.
North Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong. The plateaus cover both Diphu-Bokajan unit the Hamren unit of Karbi
Anglong, while the hills cover North Cachar Hills. The plateaus are geologically ancient and a part of the
Deccan plateau,while the hills are young and geologically belong to he Himalayan group. Karbi Anglong itself is
spread over two separated areas. Its Hamren sub-division is a part of the Meghalaya plain while the Diphu and
Bokajan sub-division are located in the Karbi Plateau proper.
The Hamren sub-division is physiographically a part of the Jaintia hills of the Meghalaya plain and
hence it is relatively low. Being drained by the head streams of the Borapani and Kapili rivers its northern part
adjoining the Nagaon plain has wide flat tracts not exceeding 500m in altitude. But towards south there are
ranges of hills which rise upto 800 m at places. Hamren Plateauis separated from the Karbi Plateau proper by the
Kapili-Jamuna Plain.
The Karbi Plataeu proper is oval in shape and highly dissected along its margins. The central part of it
is,however,high and has such peaks as Chenghehision (Singhasan :1359 m)and Dunbukso (1361 m).The plateau
gives out many streams to the surrounding lowlands of Golaghat and Nagaon districts and there are terraces at
places where these rivers emerge to the plains. These support tea gardens and reserve forests.
(d)The North Cachar Hills :The North Cachar Hills although lie contiguous to the Karbi Plateau are
geologically and structurally different from the latter. The hills here are made of folded sedimentary rocks and
were raised during the later part of the Himalayan mountain building movement. The hills generally have NE-
SW alignment and lie between the Karbi Plateau in the north and the Barak Plain in the South. It is in this district
that the highest hill range of Assam,viz. the Barail range lies. It extends from the south-eastern boundary of
Meghalaya Plateau and run across the North Cachar Hills district and Nagaland in the ENE direction and
ultimately joins with the Patkai Range in the Indo-Myanmar border. The Barail Range within North Cachar Hills
reaches an average height of 1500 m. Haflong town itself is atop a high hill of this range. it is not only the
highest range in the State but it also acts as the divider of the Brahmaputra and the Barak river basins in the mid-
eastern part of the State. The rocks of the region are less compact and hence the hill streams,fed by heavy rainfall
have cut deep channels,giving rise to gorges and steep-sided hills in the region.
( C) Drainage System :Assam is drained by two large rivers,viz. the Brahmaputra and the Barak. Of
these two,the Brahmaputra is one of the largest rivers in the world. This mighty river caught the imagination of
the people even in ancient India and they used to call it Brahmaputra, meaning the son of the creator, Brahma.
The river, from its source in Tibet to its confluence with
Ganga in Bangladesh is about 2880 km long. Out of this 1700 km falls in Tibet, 920 km in India and the
remaining 260 km in Bangladesh. The portion of the river that falls in Assam is about 700 km.
The vastness and mighty nature of the Brahmaputra has always evoked human interest and hence there
are several mythological tales regarding the origin of the river. Some mythological tales describe its origin as the
lake Manasarowar of Tibet and others as the Brahmakunda,a small lake on the bed of the river Luhit a few
kilometeres upstream of Tezu in Luhit district of Arunachal Pradesh. It has however, been found that neither is
the real source of the Brahmaputra. In fact,it originates at a point 30o31' N.L at.and 80o10'E. long,in the area
Tamchok Khambala Chorten near Kubiangiri between the Kailash Range in the north and the Himalayan range
in the south. The origin lies at the altitude of 5150m in a glacier called Chema Yungdung which lies to the south
of the lake Konggyo Tso. Thus its origin lies about 100 km east-south-east of the lake Manasarowar, from where
the Sutlej originates. in its uppermost part, the Brahmaputra is known as the Matsang Tsangpo or Tamchok
Khambam. Lowerdown in Tibet it is called as Tsangpo meaning the 'Purifier'. It runs in this name due east for
about 1200 km. In this course of the river the first tributary that joins in the left bank is the Raga Tsangpo. The
second tributary to do so is the Ngangchu and the third one is the Gya Chu. From the confluence of the Raga
Tsangpo with it near Pindzoling the river is wide, deep and navigable for about 640 km downstream. At Tsela
Dzong the river is joined from the north by the Griamda Chu. The Tsangpo abruptly takes a north-eastern turn
from about 100 km upstream of the confluence of Griamda Chu and runs for about 300 km in the direction. It
then sweeps south-westward through a hair pin bend around the eastern Himalayan peak of Namcha Barwa and
then running through rapids for about 150 km, enters Arunachal near Korba, Siang and Galling .The river then
takes the name of Siang and flows along a deep gorge past many rapid sand cascades firstly through west Siang
and then through West Siang districts. It appears in the plain near Pasighat and takes the name of Dihong and
flows through a series of braided channels for about 35 km towards south-east to meet the river Dibong coming
from the north and Luhit coming from the east at a place near Kobo. It is from this trijuncton that the river is
called Brahmaputra and assumes a really mighty proportion being as wide as 10 km at places. Although lyrically
and a popularly referred to as 'Luit', it is known as the Brahmaputra throughout its 720 km stretch in Assam.
Sweeping round the Garo Hills towards south the rivers enters Bangldesh near Mankachar and flows for a
distance of 270 km before its joins the Ganga at Goalundo. The Ganga is known as Padma in Bangladesh and the
combined course of water flows under this name of about 105 km towards the south-east, meets with another
vast course of water called the Meghna. From this confluence southward the river retains the name Meghna
GENERAL 25
and makes a very wide estuary before its exit into the Bay of Bengal.
In Assam,the river Brahmaputra touches all the plains district of the valley and its absorbs almost ali the rivers
and streams of the valley. In some places where it is all plains, the wide of the river is vast running into eight ti
twelve kilometres. In summer, the river looks like a vast expanse of water moving slowly down. But in
winter,the water level falls down leaving the sandy islands around which the braided water channels wind
leisurely. At places like Guwahati and Pancharatna the river is continued between rocks and hills on both sides
making it comparatively narrow, but even here the breadth of the river is over a kilometre.
The evolution of the Brahmaputra valley of Assam took place during the Quaternary period and its
formative process is still active. During the last 2 million years, alluviation has taken place in the foreland
depression between the newly born Himalaya on the north and the old massif of the Shillong Plateau on the
south. The foreland depression became the cradle of evolution of distinctive geological and geomorphological
units. Besides,the valley is in perpetual flux due to agrading and degrading action of the rivers, migration of
channels,disastrous earthquakes and as such geologically extremely unstable.
Between main banks, there is a wide sandy stretch in which the river oscillates from side to side,
throwing out here and there divergent channels, which after a time may regain the former path or may be silted
up. The water of the river are heavily surcharged with suspended matter and the smallest obstruction in the
current is liable to give rise to an almond shape chapari, which may either be washed away in the next flood or
enlarged by fresh deposits of sand. In the latter case, the chapari tends to be at least semi-permanent and various
species of thatch, reed and other grass begin to grow on it. Thus the process of agradation and degradation are
being carried on a gigantic scale by the Brahmaputra. 8
As regards navigability of the rivers,it may mentioned that before Independence Stream and Navigation
Companies ran regular transport services between Bihar, Bengal and Assam through the Brahmaputra. In fact, it
had been one of the most important inland waterways in India for long. Vessels plied between the Ganga and the
Brahmaputra and this had been the main mode of transport between northern and eastern part of the country. The
river is navigated by large powered inland vessels, 100 m in length with 1800 metric tonnes carrying capacity. In
the past,these vessels navigated in the river as far as Sadiya Ghat on the north bank opposite Saikhowa Ghat on
the south bank. Gradual deterioration in channel conditions, however, rendered the river unnavigable upto
Sadiya and just before the Second World War the steamer companies were compelled to terminate their services
at Dibrugarh, some 96 kilometers downstream. The great
8. Census of India,1961,Vol III, Assam,p.14.

Assam Earthquake of 1950 again rendered the river unnavigable beyond Neamati Ghat in Jorhat district. The
main function of the streamer services then was to carry tea and jute from Assam and hence many river-ports
grew up on the bank of the river. The partition of the country,the creation of east Pakistan (now
Bangladesh)threw the services out of gear. Now the inland navigation on the river can effectively run only within
Assam. Recently the Govt. of Assam has introduced several commercial services on the river Brahmaputra,
through the Directorate to carry cargo and different routes between Dhubri and Dibrugarh and also to places
outside Assam whenever needed.
Tributaries:The mighty river Brahmaputra has a large number of tributaries on both banks. These
tributaries coming from the north as well as from the south feed the master river. Notable tributaries of Assam
from the north are Subansiri, Ranganadi, Dikrong, Bargang, Buroi, Jia Bharali, Jia Dhansiri, Barnadi, Puthimari,
Pagladia, Chaulkhowa, Beki, Manas, Champamati, Saralbhanga, Gangadhar and Sonkosh. The important left
bank tributaries are Dibong, Luhit, Dibru, Buridihing, Disang, Dikhow, Jhanji, Teok, Kakadonga, Dhansiri,
Kolang-Kopili, Kulsi, Dudhnoi, Krishnai, Jingiram,etc. Most of the rivers of the north are both rain and glacier
fed but those from the south depend upon annual rains and their water level goes down to a great extent in
winter. the Brahmaputra receives its water from the Himalayas and beyond through itself and its tributaries in
the north and from the Patkai, Nagaland, North Cachar and Meghalaya hills through its left-bank tributaries. All
these tributaries for the most part of their lengths drain the steep slopes of the Himalayas to the south where
rainfall is heavy. Such tributaries erode the slopes heavily particularly where the banks are barren and soils are
loose.
The peculiar feature of the river Brahmaputra is that it has a braided channel along most of its length in
Assam .One can notice the constant shifting of its channels and the sandy shoals on its bed. The flood discharge
and silt charge brought in by the various major tributaries at different points also influence the formation of
these channels and shoals on its bed. Generally, the deep channels of the Brahmaputra lie to the southern bank.
This has been done mainly by the northern tributaries flowing from the Himalayas which bring copious
discharge and heavy silt charge during the flood season. This may be one of the reasons for the shift of the river
towards the south .During winter,when the river flow is low,the high sand bars divide the stream into several
channels. In summer, they are usually submerged. The alluvial islands (Majuli chapari or char in Assamese)
have evolved by the accumulation of both bed load and suspended load. The large tributaries of the north bank
also have braided channels,although the smaller tributaries have meandering or straight channels, traceable from
the Himalayan foothills to the confluence of the Brahmaputra. The Brahmaputra it is a vast sheet of water
throughout its entire length flowing through
GENERAL 27
the valley of Assam, dotted with numerous island, the chief among them being Majuli, Burha Chapari and
Umananda.
In the plains, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries maintain most unstable courses. The geologically infant
stage of the Himalayas, from which these rivers originate,substantially contribute to the high silt content in the
rivers. In the Administrative report of the province of Assam of 1892-93, it is described that Dibrugarh was eight
kilometers away from the cold weather channel of the Brahmaputra. After the 1950 Assam earthquake, half of
this town has been gradually buried in the bowel of the river.
The old township of Sadiya has been naturally wiped by the Luhit. Similarly, the Buridihing, before the
great flood of 1950, was one of the mighty rivers of Assam. It flowed diagonally through the middle of Sibsagar
district to meet the Brahmaputra at the extreme south-western point of the Majuli island. But now it meets the
Brahmaputra at the border of Dibrugarh and Sibsagar district.
The river Tista, which is one of the major tributaries of the Brahmaputra now, had its confluence with
the Ganga prior to the great flood of 1787.9
The records of discharge data of the Brahmaputra were meagre till recently. Before 1954, the work of
gauge discharge observation was not started in the river. Prior to that only water level was observed in the
Brahmaputra at Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Tezpur and Dhubri in Assam. The gauge records t these points from 1931
to 1966 indicate some interesting features of the channel regime .While there is a gradual rise in the minimum
levels at the three places -Dhubri, Guwahati and Tezpur,the levels at Dibrugarh show a sudden upheaval of the
order of 2.44 metres after 1950.The maximum discharge of the Brahmaputra at Dhubri is considered to be of the
order of 26 lakh cusecs. A study of the maximum discharges at various sites for the years 1956-61 shows that
while Pandu records a peak discharge varying from 50,000 to 70,000 cubic meteres per second in 1962,the
maximum recorded discharge is 72460 cubic metres per second. But the maximum flow at Tselha Dzeng (in
upper reaches)is of the order of 14,000cubic metres per second only. 10
The table below shows are monthly discharge and silt load of the Brahmaputra at Pandu in Kamrup
district.11
9.Souvenir : Assam Science Society,p.21

10. S.D. MISRA : Rivers of India,1970,p.30-31
11. Souvenir. Assam Science Society.
Month Sediment load Discharge volume Percentage of silt

(Cubic mtr) (million cubic mtr by volume of
per second) discharge
January 986,784 0.12 0.0093

February 6,60,740 0.10 0.0074
March 1,480,176 0.14 0.0120
April 1,973,568 0.10 0.0120
May 8,387,664 0.42 0.0230
June 46,255,500 1.06 0.0600
July 118,167,384 1.37 0.0990
August 99,295,140 1.29 0.0900
September 35,770,920 0.68 0.0620
October 9,867,840 0.45 0.0250
November 2,837,004 0.25 0.0130
December 1,110,132 0.16 0.0080
The maximum discharge of the Brahmaputra, as computed for the purpose of designing the Brahmaputra
bridge at Pandu was measured as 19.5 Lakh cusecs and the corresponding discharge at Dhubri was reckoned to
be about 22 lakh cusecs.
Cross section : No regular records of the cross sections of the Brahmaputra at various important places
throughout its course have been kept, so any significant change which may have occurred cannot be
scientifically discussed or analysed .A few cross sections and gauge reading were recorded at certain important
stations during the earlier part of this century but this will be of little interest and value unless they are compared
with regular and accurate gauge reading recorded over a period of years and converted to the earlier ones .In dry
season, channels vary from 200 m to about a thousand metres in width with large stretches of sandy shoals
(chars)extending for several kilometers in many places .Shoals so formed become sufficiently high to limit the
width of a channel during the flood season but not sufficiently high to escape inundation during the peak periods
of floods. In the vicinity of Guwahati as also near Pancharatna, the width of the river is about 1000 metres
flowing between more or less permanent blanks with the maximum depths of 18-20 metres during the dry season
and 40-50 metres during the rainy season. At these points discharge calculations have been made when the river
was being surveyed for the purpose of spanning.
The approximate average width of the Brahmaputra in Assam is of the order of 5.46 kilometres but the
actual width varies from place to place .
The following table shows the approximately average width of the river in
GENERAL 29
between the places named.12

The name of the places (in between) Average width
Between Dibrugarh and Neamati 5.04 km
Between Neamati and Tejpur 5.06 km
Between Tejpur to Guwahati 6.1 km
Between Guwahati to Manas confluence 3.78 km
Between Manas confluence to Dhuburi 7.01 km
The Brahmaputra is also a turbulent river which brings sorrow to the neighbouring areas along its course
.This has become so especially in the post earthquake(1950)period when its southern channels became violently
active,probably on account of aggradiation of the northern channels due to deposition of enormous quantities of
silt brought down by the Himalayan tributaries from the landslides. The floods which are so frequent in the
Brahmaputra,cause tremendous changes in the river course,as well as a rise in the river bed by depositing the
detritus carried from the upper reaches.
The fluctuations in the river level begin towards the end of March or early part of April,when the
Himalayan snow begins to melt and the nor'westers bring rainfall to the plains and valleys of north-east India.
From this period onwards. The Brahmaputra river level records a series of rises of short duration till the end of
April,when a steady rise is felt and in early May the first of flood begin to occur. From late May until late
September the possibility of occurrence of flood is always there .The devastation's caused by the high floods of
the Brahmaputra is beyond description. Villages situated on the river bank are submerged and paddy fields are
turned into vast sheets of water. The standing crops are destroyed, some of the cattle are swept away and
hundreds of cultivators, fishermen and other people living in this areas are rendered homeless. All the important
lines of transport and communication are snapped and life hings on the relief provided by government and the
public. When the floods subside, pestilence creates havoc among men and cattle alike.
The Brahmaputra river system has got the highest hydro potential in the country. But in spite of immense
potentially,nothing much have so far been done towards generating power because of many physical and socio-
economic reasons. Many Himalayan tributaries are constrained by lake of storage facilities. The southern
tributaries of the river draining the northern Shillong Plateau,with intermittent steep stretches and series of rapids
and falls are more suitable for
12. Souvenir – Assam Science Society.

hydro-power development. Though the catchment areas in upper reaches of these rivers are small,a heavy
rainfall there favours the development of hydro-electric power. The Central Water Power Commission made a
preliminary estimate of the hydro potential of the Brahmaputra river in the year 1957.As per present
investigation data for the Dihang, the Subansiri, the Kameng and discharge records of other major tributaries ,the
13
hydro potentials of the Brahmaputra river system at 60% load factor has been assessed as follows.
River Power W Nature of Development

Potential at 60% Load Factor
The Dihing Upper 1,500 MW Run-off the river scheme.
Power House
Lower Dam Power 6,000 MW Major storage scheme near

House (Dihang Pasighat with 214 mt.high dam
Storage scheme) Preliminary investigation completed
The Dihang 600 MW Mainly run-off the river with

little storage.
The Lohit 200MW Storage Cum-Run Off the river
10,000MW scheme in stages.
The Subansiri 1,000 MW Storage scheme with 150 high

dam. Preliminary investigation
completed.
The Kamega/Tenga 3000MW Mainly run-off the river
1,300MW scheme. Detailed investigation
more or less completed.
South bank tributaries :

The Kopili 500MW Storage scheme in different
stages under execution.
Umiam-Umtru-Khari 300 MW Mainly storage cum-run-off the river
schemes in different stages. Some
are already executed.
Lower and Upper 300 MW Run-off the river cum storage
Barapani Lower Umiam 1,100 MW schemes. Investigations completed.
Grant Total 12,5000 MW
13. Souvenir-- Assam Science Society,p-51

GENERAL 31
But till now no scheme tending the northern tributaries has been undertaken. It may not, however, be
irrelevant to mention that no national expenditure can be considered greater then the possible benefit it can
provide and probable disaster it can prevent to national life in general.
The Barak :Next to the Brahmaputra,The Barak is also an important river of Assam. The Barak rises on
the southern slopes of the lofty Barail Range near the border of Manipur and Nagaland and forms a part of the
northern boundary of the Manipur State with Nagaland where it is known as Kairong. From where it flows a
westerly and southerly course to Tipaimukh, where it sharply turns to the north, and for a considerable distance,
forms the boundary line between Cachar and Manipur. After its junction with the river Jiri, it turns again to the
west,and follows a meandering course across the middle of the district till it reaches Badarpur to Haritikar,the
Barak forms the boundary between Cachar and Sylhet district of Bangladesh. At Sylhet, the river is divided into
two branches, the southern arm is called the Kushiyara, while the northern branch is known as the Surma. The
latter continues to form the boundary of Cachar with Bangaladesh as far as Jalalpur. The total length of the Barak
from its confluence with the old course of Brahmaputra near Bhairab Bazar is about 900 km,out of this only 192
km lie in Cachar.14
As it flows down the valley, the Barak is joined by tributaries both from the north and the south. The
main northern tributaries are the Jiri, the Chiri, the Madhura, the Jatinga, the Harang, the Kalain and the Gumra.
The main south bank tributaries are Sonai, the Katakhal, the Dhaleswari, Singla and the Longai. The Barak is
navigable as far as Silchar. Each of the tributaries has a considerable hill catchment.
The bed of the river Barak has a series of bars and depressions resulting from the erosional and
depositional activities of the river. The banks of the channel are generally composed of stiff silty clay with
outcrops of laterite at places. The bed itself is generally of fine sand and the channel is deep. The cross section of
the river shows that the Barak has built its bank high above the general ground level which falls steeply away
from the bank.
Throughout the Barak valley there are low-lying areas beyond the high banks of either side. The
tributaries have also built up their banks. Thus the areas beyond the river banks have been turned into a series of
bowls. These depressions are locally called hoars. The principal hoar,the Dubri hoa, the chatla hoar, the Bakri
hoar and the Kayajan hoar.
The catchment area of the Barak upto Badarpur is 25,899 sq. km. But
14. Census of India,1961,Vol. III,Assam,General Report,p,15.

the riverine area in the valley upto the same point measures only about 33,66 sq. km. This adverse topography
and heavy rainfall have made the Barak Valley liable to frequent flooding. To control flood and drain out excess
water pose a great problem because of the fact that flood water has to drain through only a narrow width of the
valley opposite Badarpur and the grade available in the river is extremely gentle.
It is worthwhile to mention here that Barak flood level at Silchar which is 643 km from the sea, has an
elevation of the order of only 20.42 metres. Besides, the Barak bed in many places is well below the mean sea
level. This must be ascribed to the fact that the Barak Valley had been a part of the sea before it was built up. The
records show that the maximum discharge of the Barak at Lakhipur was 1,81,000 causecs (on 16-6-59) The
bankful capacity of the river at different reaches are as follows :
Silchar reach -1,50,000 causecs.
Badarpur reach-1,54,000 causecs.
In the cold weather ,the Barak becomes shallow in certain places. The river flows between steep banks
which rise to a height of 13-17 m on either side. After heavy rain in the hills it is subject to strong freshets, and
the level of the water sometimes rises six to ten metres in a very short space of time.
(D)Geology : (1) Geological antiquities :With regard to the Geological history of the earth, only the
early and late periods are recorded in Assam; the palaeozoic and the greater part of the Mesozoic are missing.
Only the Archaean, the late Cretaceous (Maestrichtian to Danian),Tertiary and Quaternary are represented in
Assam.
The Geological succession of undivided Assam is given in the table at page 33 from top downwards.
In Assam, the most ancient rocks are the Archaean rocks, which consist of Gneisses and Schists. Though
the geological data relating to the older rocks of Assam are very fragmentary yet the rocks are correlated with the
Archaean and Pre-Cambrian rocks of other parts of India.
It deems necessary to mention here that in different regions in India there are representatives both marine
and fresh-water formations, of the Palaeozoic Starta; but in the Assam region the only Palaeozoic Starta are the
Permian coal-bearing Gondwans which are met with along the southern side of the Eastern Himalayas
(Arunachal Himalayas)from the Abor country through that of the Daflas, the Akas and Bhutan into the
Darjeeling region about Bagrakot. In this part of the country, crushed seams of coal, equivalent to those of
Raniganj coalfield
have been found. It is expected that these strata might be found to the south also under the alluvium.
Mesozoic Rocks : The geological history of the Assam region is also fragmentary throughout the
Mesojoic era,but there is evidence that a sea extended into ,what is now known as the Khasi Hills towards the
close of Cretaceous time after a period of volcanic eruptions; which are correlated with the out pouring of the
Rajmahal basaltic lavas. The Cretaceous rocks of Assam have been dealt with by many geologists and so has the
Sylhet Trap (equivalent of Rajmahal Traps);and many dykes of this basaltic doleritic material have been found in
Assam including the Abor Volcanic Group in the Eastern Himalayas, and various instrusions seen among the
Archaean gneisses and schists of the Tura Range as well as in the Lower Gondwana Sandstones near Singimari.
the Mesozoic sea has merely left a mark in the Assam region and indicates marine conditions over Sylhet near
the close of the Cretaceous time.
Pre-Cambrian rocks occur over the whole of the Shillong Plateau including the Garo Hills and in some
portions Karbi Anglong Hills of Assam. Patches of such rocks are found near Tezpur,Nagaon,Guwahati,Goalpara
and Dhubri.Near Tezpur,Guwahati and Goalpara,the Brahmaputra is confined to these pre-cambrian rocks.
Territary Rocks : From the beginning of the Teritary era to the present day the geology of Assam is fairly
clear stratigraphically .After a pause,the Mesozoic sea appears to have been followed by a belt of lagoons over
the area of the Assam Range of-to-day,but these marshes were depended into open sea along the southern half of
the main Assam Range early in Eocene times. The so-called cherra sandstone of the Shillong plateau and the
coal-bearing Tura Sandstone of the Garo Hills was deposited during this period,in the lagoons, in early Eocene
times,and followed by the deposit of the Sylhet or Nummulitic Limestone in the warm,shallow and open sea of
the Eocene in southern Assam. This sea appears to have been muddy in the direction of Tura, but to have
continued westwards into what is now south western Bengal. To the east and north-east the Nummulitic Eocene
sea spread upto Karbi Anglong and might have been connected with an estuary, which entered the Assam region
from the north-east and was splited partly south-westwards and partly south-ward into northern Burma, where
Eocene rocks with Nummulites are found.
Although the physical geography of the Eocene period in Assam and Burma areas has not been fully
elucidated across the watersheds between the Brahmaputra and the Barak rivers and the Chindwin river, there are
grounds for believing that the Nummulitic beds were represented in the Naga Hills and the Barail Range by a
Group of Sandstones and related rocks with the well-known coal measure of Upper Assam (once believed to be
Miocene but now recognised as younger Oligocene between Eocene and Miocene).Although the
GENERAL 35
Barail Group is coal bearing and evidently esturine deposits, they are not as old as the coal-bearing rocks south
of Shillong in the so-colled Jaintia group which includes the Nummulitic Limestone. The coal-bearing rocks of
the Garo Hills (Tura Standstone) and Karbi Anglong are older and were once believe to be Creataceous in age.
There is hiatus above the Barail Group of rocks, but above this come the Upper Tertiary beds, the next beds
upwards being the Surma Group of Miocene age, the Tipam Group of Upper Miocene age and Dihing group of
Pliocene to Pleistocene age. The estimated thickness of the Assam Tertiary strata has been completed as follows.
Dihing Group approximately 5,000 ft.
Tipam Group ,, 12,000 ft.
Surma Group ,, 13,000 ft.
Barail Group ,, 15,000 ft.
Jaintia Group ,, 4,000 ft
Moreover,in respect of the Geological history there is little doubt that until the close of the Palaeozoic
Era the Assam region appears to have been an integral part of the continental mass known as Gondwanaland.
Further,with the volcanic eruptions at the close of the Mesozoic Era,the outpouring of the Abor, Sylhet
and Rajmahal Traps, followed shortly by the vast eruptions of basaltic lavas at the deccan Plateau,there appears
to have began a general uplift of the northern ocean. In early Eocene times the northern area had become land an
estuary had appeared in north-eastern Assam,allowing the drainage to entire Assam and Burma. In middle
Tertiary times,the estuary had extended southward and only shallow muddy seas washed the lands along the
south and west of what is now the Assam plateau.
(ii)Geological structure :With regard to the geological structure a closer studies of the Assam
Himalaya,the Brahmaputra Valley,the Assam range,the Sylhet and Surma Valley and the bordering hills of
Chittagong, the Lushai Hills, and the Naga hills show the sediments which were once laid down horizontally as
sands, silts, clays etc., may be found transformed by pressure and shearing, into sandstones and quartzites, shales
and slates, etc.,which may be inclined at any angle and even overturned as well as buckled and dislocated. Along
the southern side of the Assam Himalaya the strata, from the newest to the oldest including the Gondwana
beds,are seen to be pushed over from the northwards, and indeed, a zone of over-thrusting appears to continue
along the foot hills of the Himalaya. In the Brahmaputra Valley where the rocks are exposed from near Dhubri
eastwards to Karbi Anglong and onto the extreme north-east at daphabhum, only the most ancient Gneisses and
Schists of Archaean age show up from under the alluvium or the youngest Tertiary. The same is largely true for
the northern part of the main Assam Range,but along its southern side the Lower Tertiary beds are seen to bend
over and dip
ASSAM STATE GAZETEER 36
into the alluvium of the Sylhet and Myanmensingh plains. The axis of Assam range is roughly parallel with the
Eastern Himalaya.
South of the Brahmaputra valley in Upper Assam the Tertiary rocks have been bucked by tetonic forces
acting from the southwards(Burma),and shearing (overthrusting)has been from an opposite direction to that of
the eastern Himalaya,so that valley in Sibsagar and part of Lakhimpur are typical structural valley of the Ramp
type. However, traced south-west the Naga Hills and the Manipur Ranges (which continue southwards into
Burma as the Arkan Yoma) show the push to have been from the east, and this push from Burma, combined with
the push from the Himalaya has caused complicated shearing in the 'gap', west of the Barail Range and is
directly responsible for the important dislocation known as the Haflong Fault. Some kind of release of shearing
has occurred in southwest Assam since the hills of southern Sylhet and Tripura have their axis parallel to the
Manipur and Lushai Hills and therefore at right angles to the axis of the Assam Range, as seen in the Garo,
Khasi and Jaintia Hills.
The great forces acting from the north and east have produced the up lifts of the Assam range and the
Baril range and caused the structural features of the Brahmaputra and Barak Valleys as clearly visible highlands
and plains,but these slow acting forces have also been responsible for the faulting and dislocation which are only
noticed during geological map making. However,a gradual increase of strain along an old fault and a new line of
stress will,if the strain is released suddenly by shearing,cause the earthquakes which are so common in Assam.
The whole region is subjected to the northward thrust from the Himalaya and to the westward thrust of push
from Burma,and if frequent small earthquake shocks are felt,the general evidence is the release of strain is being
effected and the danger from a great earthquake is largely removed. If, however, a considerable diminution in
small earthquake shocks becomes noticeable, say, in the Garo Hills to Jaintia Hills region, then there are
increasing potentialities of stronger shocks.
Economic mineral plays a very significant role in the development of a region. But the mineral
Allophane which has been detected at present in the coal bearing strata near Margherita showing roughly 19 per
cent Silica,38 per cent Alumina with about 40 per cent water, is of scientific interest. However,this important
mineral wealth does not occur a commercial quantities to be used as a substitute for Kaolinite.
Of the major minerals,namely,coal and gas,limestone,sillimanite and corundum,refactory

clay,kaolin,glass sand , silica rock, gold, copper, salt felspar, vermiculite, fluorspar, beryl, iron and pyrite are
reported to occur in the State. Coal, oil and gas, limestone, refractory clays, fire-clay, glass-sand, salt, gypsum
and pyrite occur in the late Cretaceous and Tertiary. The rest occur in sedimentary and igneous rocks of pre-
Cambrian age.
GENERAL 37
The pre-cambrian rocks as occur in the individual districts of Assam are as follows :
In Kamrup district, members belonging to the pre-Cambrian Gnessic-group, exposed sporadically. In the
north of the district, exposures of Siwalik or Teritiary rocks are noticed. As a general rule the distinctive rock
types occur in close association with each other and occasionally enter into the composition of landed, streaky or
composite gneiss.
The geological history of Sibsagar district and for that matter,of the Upper Assam Valley as a whole, is
related to two long narrow subsidiary through (Geosynclines) lying on either side of an old rigid continental
shield (foreland).The foreland is geologically the north-eastern constitution of the Shillong and Karbi Anglong
Hills plateau which is concealed in the valley by a great thickness of alluvium and Tertiary rocks. Oil and
Natural Gas Commission aided by drilling for oil have shown that under the alluvium there are many thousands
of feet of thickness of Tertiary sediments which lie over an Archaean basement complex. The tertiary rocks
represent the foreland facies and are distinguishable from the geosynclinal facies of Tertiary rocks which from
the hills on the south and south-east of the district.
In Darrang , Archaean gneisses which from the base of the district and low hills near the Brahmaputra are an
extension of the pre-Cambrian shield of the Karbi Anglong Hills. Barring the isolated hillocks exposing the
Archaean gneisses in the southern part and occasional outcrops of the Upper Tertiary sandstones at places over
the northern boundary at the foot-hills of the Himalaya, the entire district of Darrang is covered by alluvial
deposits of Recent and Sub-Recent origin. The Archaean gneisses represent a complex group of the biotite and
hornblende gneisses with occasional small granitic and pagmetetic bodies intrusive into them. The Upper
Teritary sandstones mainly covering the foothills of the Himalaya across the northern boundary consist of fine to
medium grained,bluish to greenish grey ferruginious ''pepper and salt'' type sandstones with partings of dark grey
splintery shales and occasional lumps,streaks and fragments of lignite and carbonised wood resemble the Tipam
sandstones of Upper Assam. Along the base of the foothills,these sandstones are covered by a thick accumulation
of unstratifield and unconsolidated terrace deposit of the Sub-Recent age.
The older alluvium is of fluviatile origin being carried down by the Himalayan rivers and deposited
along their original area of inudation which has later been raised to its present position. the recent alluvium
covering the major part of the district consists of loosely consolidated sands,clays,and single beds with
occasional accumulation of vegetation.
In Goalpara district,the Pre-Cambrian rocks are exposed in a number of hillocks. Rock belonging to the
Tipam group (Miocene) of the Tertiary Supper group are exposed along the Bhutan border between the Rekhajoli
and the
schistose rocks are also seen this area,At Gauripur of Dhubri district granite gneiss is exposed in a small hill
pebble bed or older alluvium are seen on the north of the Brahmaputra.
The undivided district of Lakhimpur (present Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Dhemaji
districts)consists of wide alluvial plain composed of mixture of sand and clay in varying proportion and
surrounded on the sides by hills belonging to the Tertiary Time. The hills of the south consists of sandstones and
shales interpersed with valuable col mines and iron stones. The Geological deposits of economic value are gold,
coal, petroleum, lime. kaolin and salt. To the north of the undivided district,the ground is by alluvium. Drilling
for oil has shown the existence of the whole Tertiary succession from the Eocene to the Pleistocene Time.
Seismic survey has revealed the presence of Archaean rocks below the Tertiaries.
In the undivided Cachar, the upper tertiary rocks extend in an unbroken range of the Barail. These rocks
are horizontal, consisting of fine-grained sandstones and shales. In the district, high level alluvial deposits (older
alluvium)occur in the two plateau,one lying at about 61-107 m. above the alluvial near Kumbhir, north-east of
Silchar; and the other near Dewan, east of Silchar, at about 30m.above the alluvial. The Barak Valley appears to
mark the junction of two movements of rocks in different directions,one from the north and the other from the
east, and to have suffered in consequence. The Barail range strike east-west and the Disang and the Barails have
been folded into anticline with an east-west axis. South of the Barak the strata have been folded into north-south
wave like corrugation which rise to the alterations of the lines of hills and valleys. In the corrugation the tops
are usually narrower than the buttoms of the throughs and the inclined flanks separating the crest from the trough
are very steep, the strata dipping at high angels. In many instances, one of the flanks of the fold is much steeper
than the other and in these asymmetric anticlines it is common to find strike-faulting accompanied by vertical
and inverted strata.
So far as the undivided district of Nagaon is concerned,only three periods of the geological history are
represented in the outcropping surface, namely, the Quaternary, the Tertiary and the pre-Cambrian. Quaternary is
represented by the recent alluvium of the Brahmaputra and in some of its tributaries. Similarly rocks belonging
to the Tertiaries are exposed near Lumding .These belong to the Jaintia, the Barail and the Surma Group. The
pre-Cambrian rocks are exposed in the low hillocks. They from the eastern edge of the Shillong plateau before it
sinks below the alluvium. They are com posed of gneisses and granite. These older gneisses are uniform in
character having white to light grey colours.
Comprehensive accounts in respects of geological antiquities,geological formation etc.,of the different

district of Assam are available in the gazetteers of the districts and such these are not reproduced here.
GENERAL 39
(iii)Mineral Wealth: It has been mentioned earlier that the state of Assam occupies a very significant
place in the map of mineral wealth of the country. But Assam is lagging far behind the other states in the matter
of proper exploitation of such wealth.
Out of the different types of mineral wealth,only four types of mineral wealth,only four types,namely
coal,oil and gas,limestone, quartz and clay are being exploited at present.
Coal:Coal in Assam at present occurs in the district of Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Tinsukia and Karbi Anglong
(Erstwhile Mikir Hills).Due to the bifurcation of Assam most of the coalfields of Garo Hills have gone to the
newly state of Meghalaya. In undivided Assam,the most attractive coalfields belong to the Eocene and Oligocene
age (i)The Lower Eocene of the Garo and Karbi Anglong Hills, (ii)the Middle Eocene of the Karbi Anglong, and
(iii)the Upper Eocene to Oligocene of the Naga Hills,etc.
The discovery of Coal in Assam took place when the administration of the province was taken over by
the British Government. The coal of the Naga Hills near Borhat in Sibsagar district and Jaipur in the present
Dibrugarh district was reported by Mr. Jenkins in the year 1838.Coal also reported to have occurred in the Karbi
Anglong Lunglai areas. The occurrence exposes a 3.64m seam dipping 12 to 20 degrees to the north-west. The
Coal has overage 4 to 5 per cent moisture,50 to 57 per cent volatile matter,about 25 per cent volatile matter,about
25 per cent fixed carbon and between 13 to 20 per cent ash,which is very resinous (high volatile matter)type of
coal or lignite. There are also records of coals of better quality within 12 miles (19.30 km.)of Lumding. It is
stated that coal is also found in the Namber area within Sibsagar district. In the Nazira area with in the same
district the coal mines of Borjan and Kanjan (now in Nagaland) have been worked by Messrs. Shaw Wallance
and Company. The Nazira coal-field is partly drained by the Saffrai river, which exposes coal measures with in 5
miles (8kms) of Saffrai station. Some of the coal from the Nazira coal-field is among the best in India .Analysis
showed that the coal contain 4 to 10 per cent moisture,36 to 44 per cent volatile matter,under 1 to 4 per cent ash.
Much of the low moisture material is of caking quality and some of the samples from wakching,etc.,are strongly
caking character.
Northward from the Disang river at Namrup the coal measures extend north-eastwards into Lakhimpur
(undivided).The Jaipur coalfield is now in the present Dibrugarh district and marks the southwestern end of the
richest coal-bearing strata (Tikak Parbat Formation)of Upper Assam,which extends onwards beyond Lakhimpur
(undivided)into the frontier tract beyond the Tirap river and on to the Namphuk river. Coal fields are lso there at
Mergherita and Makum areas .All the coal mining operations in the Makum and the Margherita north-eastwards
area is conducted by the North Eastern Coal Fields,Coal India Ltd. In succession from the west, the collieries of
Margherita area are as follows :
ASAM STATE GAZETTEER 40
Namdang, Bargolai, Tikak, Ledo, Lakhapani and Tipong quarry. Mr. G.E. Hines,Geological expert states that
the coal measures (Tikak Parbat formation)are of Oligocene age. The thickness of the seams and the excellence
of the coal must be unique in India. But the Coal which occurs in the Tikak Parbat Formation of the Barail
Group is conducted under many difficulties where the worst natural conditions in India have to be faced. The
bottom of 120 metres of this formation is very carbonaceous and includes one seam in the Makum Coal-field
varying in thickness from 18 metres to nearly 30 metres and another six metres thick besides a number of thinner
ones. The coal-bearing horizon to the south-east of the Makum Coal field is of great areal extent as revealed in
the oil wells drilled at Naharkatia and Rudrasagar.
In the Makum coal field alone the reserves have been estimated at 1,000million tons. The reserves
estimated in the Namphuk area is 600 million tons.
The hard coke formed in the Makum coal, being high in Sulphur is not used as a metallurgical coke for
iron smelting Sulphide ores such as the lead, Copper and Zinc ores of Upper Burma, and the Sulphur could be
recovered as Sulphuric Acid. In both the low and the high temperature carbonisation the Gas must be excellent
calorific value and therefore useful as fuel in itself.
The Chemical composition of the coals from the different coal fields so far they relate to Assam is given
to the table below: 15
Coal fields Composition in percentage by weight C
M ASH VM FC S CV
1.Dilli Collieries
(a) Seam 1 6.30 1.40 42.80 49.50 1.31 12,999 BTU
(b) Seam 2 5.30 4.10 43.90 46.70 2.58 12,740 ,,
(c) Seam 3 5.90 5.50 41.60 47.00 4.68 12,150 ,,
(d) Seam 4 5.60 6.30 40.50 47.60 4.53 11,730 ,,
2.Namdang 2.10 19.30 35.50 43.00 5.57 14,308 ,,
3.Borgolai 2.40 4.80 42.20 50.60 2.35 13,670 ,,
4.Ledo 1.80 2.46 40.15 55.59 …... …...... ,,
5.Tipong 2.50 5.90 43.70 50.80 2.52 13.870 ,,
6.Disangmukh borehole. 16.30 1.70 37.00 37.40 …... …...... ,,
Abbreviation :-M-Moisture,Vm-Volatile matter, FC-Fixed Carbon.
Among all the districts of Assam,the present district of Tinsukia has huge deposits of coal in
comparatively young Tertiary rocks. But the presence of the injurious constituent sulphur and the inaccessibility
of the coal fields have impeded large scale exploitation
15.Census of India,1961,Vol III,Assam Part- 1-A,General Report,p,31.

GENERAL 41
upto Miobum in Arunachal Pradesh. In Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, coal exposures are found in the Jaipur,
Namdang and Ledo areas upto Tipang river. In all cases, the workable coal seams are exposed along the northern
flank of the Naga-Patkai Ranges facing Sibsagar and Lakhimpur (undivided) districts. It has been stated earlier
that individual coal seams vary in thickness at places from 3.04m to 18.28m. Recently, a 3.04m thick coal seam
has been encountered in the Assam Oil Company's first bore hold at Naharkatiya at a depth of little less than
3048m. The coal is of good quality. The district of Sibsagar is also rich in respect of coal mines. It is mainly
mined in Nazira coal field. Coal is also found in the Jhanji and Disoi rivers. The seams in both these cases are
few, thin, and highly inclined. The coal have 3.4 per cent to 6.8 per cent moisture, 4.8 to 6.5 per cent ash, 33.8
per cent to 36.9 per cent volatile matter and 52.9 to 54.9 p.c fixed carbon. 16
The Nazira coal field is nearly twenty-five kilometres long and situated about six kilometres south of
Naginimara railway station upto the Dihang river. But except for a small outcrop of coal measures within eight
kilometres of Saffrai railway station, the coal field lies in Nagaland.
In Jaipur outcrops of the seams are seen along a strip of forty kilometres long, about half of which lie in
Dibrugarh district. A thickness of more than 13.71m of coal in six seams is exposed in the Dilli river. The coal-
bearing rocks dip to the east with a high degree of inclination (30o to 80o) on the Sibsagar side the coal is
worked out by the Dilli Collieries (Assam) Limited. The Colliery has an area of four square miles (10.36 Sq.
Kms.),which was closed in June, 1970.
The following brief statistical table shows the production. 17
year Production.(000 metric tonnes)

1974 507
1975 582
1980 575
1981 646
1985 835
1986 864
1987 922
1988 1000
1989 840
1990 612
1991 982
1992 1069
The Statement below shows the colliery-wise production of coal in Assam. 18
16.District Census Handbook,1961,Sibsagar.

17. Statistical Hand Books,.Assam,1982,p. 171,1987,p.140,191,p.165 and 1993,p.188.
18. Ibid,1993,p.190
(In '000 metric tonnes )

Colliery District 1990 1991 1992 p*
1. Ledo Dibrugarh 196 564 627
2. Bargolai ,, 95 127 105
3. Tipong ,, 145 146 154
4. Jaypur ,, 27 26 24
5. B.G/OCA ,, 149 119 81
6. Garampani N.C. Hills 7
7. Assam 612 982 1069
*P - Provisional
Mineral Oil : Like coal, mineral oil also occurs mainly in the Upper Assam region of the Brahmaputra
Valley. In Assam at the present time,the quest for oil has been directed in the northeast of the Brahmaputra
Valley and the broad belt of Tertiary rocks extending from the Moiban range in Arunachal Pradesh to Tripura
through Cachar district and Mizoram. Oil is found in three stratigraphical horizons in the geological column.
Prior to the discovery of oil fields in recent years at Naharkatia, Hugrijan, Rudrasagar, Moran, Lakwa, etc.,
Digboi was the only oil field in independent India. The discovery oil in the Digboi area took place in 1886,when
on the recommendation of the Late H.B. Medlicott, of the Geological Survey of India,drilling for oil was also
started near Margherita and Jaipur. These borings met with partial success and due to poor production rates and
lack of good communication, no interest was paid on them. The availability of coal in that area led to
construction of a railway line from Ledo to Dibrugarh for the purpose of carrying the same,the presence of an oil
show near Digboi was discovered by chance. The drilling of the first well was completed in 1890,which gave
200 gallons (908 liters) of oil per day. Within nine years (in 1899), fourteen wells had been drilled. In 1899, the
Assam Oil Company was formed to take over the management of the oil interest in this area. In 1921,the Burma
Oil Company took over the commercial and technical management, giving it much needed financial
assistance,up-to-date equipment and modern transport and refining facilities. In about ten years time,the
production had stepped up to 180,000 gallons (8,18,273 liters)per day compared to about 12,000 14,000 gallons
(55,550-63,640 liters)per day before 1921.During 1931,the Digboi oil field met about 11.5% of the crude
requirements of the then undivided Indian Empire,which included Burma. 19
18. Statistical Hand Book,Assam,1993,p.1990

19. W.B. Metre and y. Nagappa : Oil Products in India,p.7.
GENERAL 43
After failures to find oil at Namphuk, Namchik, Makum-Namdang ,Barjan, Dhekiajuli, Barsilla,
Bandersulia, Nichuguard,etc.,efforts were made to find additional oil fields in the alluvial areas of the Assam
Valley. Drilling in the Upper Assam Valley,on the basis of the results of geophysical and regional geological
survey,has shown that the Barail rocks, from which the oil has migrated into upper Tipam sands in Digboi, is
also oil-bearing in the Naharkatia-Hugrijan area at the depth of about 10,000 (3048 metres )feet. The first well in
this area was competed in 1953 and the area so far explored by drilling stretches between 10 to 20 miles (16 to
32 kilometres) west of Digboi. At Moran ,about 20 miles(32 kilometres), further west from Naharkatiya the first
test-well was successfully completed in 1956 and production was proved in the same rock Groups as at
Naharkatiya. Further drilling in the Naharkatia-Hugrijan area,where 30 wells were completed upto the end of
1957,had already proved a potential of nearly 2.5 million tons of oil per year together with about 45 to 50
million cu.ft.(21.66 to 35.12 million. cu.m.) gas per day. 20
The discovery of oil at Naharkatia in 1953, has radically changed the prospects for oil in Assam. In
earlier period,oil was found in higher horizons,namely in Tipams and the Surmas, although a little was also
found in the top of the Barails and in sharply folded anticlines,whereas at Naharkatiya oil was found in the
Barails in very gently folded beds with definite dips on the flanks but rather indefinite pitches, and oil was found
not only in structural traps but also in fault traps and especially in areas with a thick cover of alluvium and at
greater depth than tested before. In fact, the whole of the alluvial tract in Upper Assam has become oil
prospective. In the Naharkatiya oilfield (including Moran),the reserves of crude oil are estimated at 47 million
metric tonnes and of associated and dry gas 7,90,000 million cubic feet. 21
Mineral oil was also found in Cachar district within the former Surma Valley. Petroleum is reported to
occur in the Patharia Reserve Forest. In the Badarpur-Masimpar field, petroleum was obtained from the Bhuban
stage of the Surma Group. The first well was actively proposed by the Burma Oil Company Ltd. for 18 years
from 1915 to 1933,but oil-bearings sands were of restricted extent and their exhaustion led to the final
abandonment of the field. The Company drilled 63 wells obtained 1,864,000 barrels of crude oil which was
refined at the Digboi refinery. Statement below shows the production of crude oil and natural gas from the oil
fields of Assam.
20. W.B,Metre and Y.Nagappa : Oil Products in India,p.8

21. Census of India,1961,Assam,General Report.
22. Statistical Hand Book,Assam,1978,p.160,1987,p.140.
Year Crude oil (1,000 metric tonnes) Natural gas (utilised million cubic
metre)
1970 3,358 360
1975 4,190 621
1981 5,112 875
1985 4,790 751
1990 4,927 987
1991 4,838 967
1992* 4,703 1030
P* -Provisional
Sillimanite: It is also an important mineral wealth of Assam. The Assam Sillimanite is in the form of
massive rock from which cubes can been sawn for direct use in furnaces. The largest boulder of massive
Sillimanite in Assam and Meghalaya was estimated to weigh 300 tons.
Refactory clay: At present in Assam,it is found only in Karbi Anglong. It has a refractoriness of orton
cone and is stated to be quite suitable for the manufacture of refractories.
Gold :During the Pre-British time this important material was collected in many rivers in Assam. A
section of people,known as Sonowal Kachari was engaged for this purpose. Even now alluvial gold occurs in
many rivers of Upper Assam such as Dikrong ,Subansiri, Sisi, Dihing, Dibong, Noa-Dihing, Dhansiri, Disoi,
Buridihing, Bhoroli, Burigong, Bargang,etc..Although gold-bearing sand used to be panned in ancient items,it is
now no longer an economic proposition.
Alum Shale : It is mentioned in the district Census Handbook, Lakhimpur,1961, that dark-coloured
Pyritiferous shales are found in several places from the coal bearing areas in the district. it is suggested that these
shales could be used for the preparations of alluminium sulphate and alum. For the proper utilisation of this
economic material,an Alum plant is going to be established at Namrup.
Fire-clay: It is known that fire-clays occur with coal measures of the Makum coalfield and that the
Assam Railways and Trading Company prepared fire-bricks and refractories from these clays for their own
requirements. Similar clay my be found in the Karbi Anglong Hills where the lower Eocene (Cherra
State)coal,seam,etc.,occur. It is also known that at the falls of the Nambor river in Golaghat district, such clays
are available in Golaghat. There are thus extensive Occurrences of these white clays in Assam wherever the
lower Eocene beds are met with.
Lithomarge : Lithomarge occurs abundantly in association with the coal-beds. It is stated that some of
the clays or shales found along the coal fields of upper Assam have been profitably utilised for the preparation
of ''oil-well drilling mud'.
Potter's clay: In the alluvial tracts of the State the Potter's clay is found in abundance. The Pottery
industry,which mainly depends upon the availability of local clay,provides employment opportunities to a large
number of persons. In the plains and valleys of the State,the pottery clay is the alluvial material found in the
rivers
GENERAL 45
and beds of bils.

Kaolin or China clay :Kaolin is found in good quantities in the Dora river of the old Lakhimpur district.
Copper: It is mentioned in the Census Report of Assam,1961(General Report),that the occurrence of
copper has been located in two places within Assam, one near Barduar in Kamrup district and another near
Mahamaya Hills in Goalpara district. In both the places,the copper has been found in rocks of the Archaean age.
On account of small and scattered show of the metal in both the places, proper investigation is required for
exploitation of the same.
Salt :In certain places within Cachar district brine springs occur and in the past salt was in the district.
Salt was also made near Sadiya and Borhat in the undivided Lakhimpur district. But now-a days due to the
availability of salt at cheaper rates in market these difficult and remote places have lost their importance.
Felsper: Felsper occurs in small quantity in the Karbi Anglong Hills in Assam.
Beryl :This mineral has been reported from some of the pregmatite veins in the gneissic area in the Karbi
Anglong Hills.
Gypsum :Crystals of selenite have been found near Longloi in the Karbi Anglong Hills. It is known that
gypsiferous shale occurs in the Dimasa Reserve Forest in the said district.
Iron-ore : Quartz-magnetic rocks are stated to be available in the Hahim area within Kamrup district.
These rocks belong to the Dharwar system. 23
The following brief statement shows the volume of production and value of major minerals of the State
(including Meghalaya) for the year 1960. 24
Name of mineral Year 1960

production Value (in Rs)
Coal 663,000 Rs. 187,57,000
(in tonnes)
Limestones 49,000 Rs. 3,81,000
(in tonnes)
Crude oil 118,304,000 Rs. 479,73,000
(in gallons)
Mineral gas 530,482,492 Rs. 21,74,160
(cubic feet)
Sillimimanite 7,000 Rs. 1,38,000
(in tonns)
23. Census of India,1961, Assam,General Report,p.34.

24. Census of India,1961, Vol.III,Assam,General Report.
production of all these minerals increased many times in recent years.

Earthquake: Assam, including the North-eastern region of India lies in the seismic region and liable to
suffer from sever earthquake. The frequency of earthquakes in Assam is closely related to the geology of the
province. A list of dates of occurrence of some big earthquakes in Assam during the last 500 years has been
furnished below.
1.In the year 1548 8.In the year 1759
5.In the year 1660 12.In the year1875 (September)
6.In the year 1696 13.In the year 1897 (June)
7.In the year1732 14. In the year1950 (August)
Amongst the recorded earthquakes, the most severe, according to B.C. Allen, was one which took place
on June 12 th, 1897. It was perceived over an area of 45,32,000 square kilometres from Rangoon in the South-
East to Jaintiapur in the North-West from the Himalayas Masulipatam. Extensive damage was done to masonry
buildings over an area of 78,000 square kilometres. The area of maximum disturbance was a tract of country in
the shape of a cocked hat, whose base line ran from Rangpur to Jaintiapur, while the top of the crown was near
Barpeta in Kamrup district. The second major earthquake that took place in Assam was on August 15 th,1950.
This earthquake with the epicentre at about 200 miles (322 kms) north of Sadiya was one of the most disastrous
events that the State had ever experienced. Upper Assam districts namely Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh and Sibsagar
suffered extensive damage of life and property. The long- range effect of this earthquake was keenly felt in
Assam during the decade 1951-61.The epicentre of this earthquake was near Rima just above the Indo-Tibetan
border, and in most parts in the eastern Himalayas. Heavy Landslides occurred locking mountain streams and
rivers and causing lakes to be built up in the Himalayas. During the decade and afterwards, many of these lakes
burst open carrying an immense amount of soil, sands and debris into the plains of Assam. Large areas of the
present Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur districts between the Brahmaputra and the foot-hills have been converted into
sandy stretches. As a result of the after-effects of the earthquake, the bed of the Brahmaputra has risen above its
normal depths all along the Brahmaputra valley. The river Brahmaputra became the main agent of destruction in
Assam. Many parts of the state like Dibrugarh town, Sadia, Saikhowaghat, Tarabari, Palasbari, etc.,suffered
heavy damages due to after-effects of the earthquake.
GENERAL 47
E. Flora (Botany):
Botanical Divisions, ;According to the type of flora and the nature of vegetation found in it , the forests of
Assam may broadly be divided into (I) Evergreen forests, (II)Mixed Deciduous forests, (III) Riverain forests and
(IV) Savannah. However ,the above classifications are not wholly uniform in all the forests areas of the State .
Variations here and there are noticed as to the type of flora and nature of vegetation found in them.
Generally ,evergreen forests are found in the undivided districts of Cachar , Goalpara, Nagoan ,Kamrup
,Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh ,Darrang and the Hills districts of the state .Most of the reserved forests of the State are
evergreen in character . In 1992-93,there were 47 Forests Divisions in the state and they covered 21 ,488sq.km.
In area .The statement below provides the names of the Forest Divisions and area covered during the years 1979
to 1993.25
Area of Total Reserved Forest in sq.km. (Excluding unclassed State Forest )
Forest 1979-80 1985-86 1991-92 1992-93

Divisions (Provisional)
1.Goalpara 298.22 377.89 385.25 392.03
2.Dhuburi 549.30 506.15 512.40 512.48
3.Kachugaon 824.18 824.15 925.15 824.15
4.Haltugoan 976.05 693.63 641.86 641.45
5.Aie Valley 507.97 548.97 550.64 547.43
6.Kamrup West 691.64 708.88 705.88 684.56
7.Kamrup East 527.99 588.70 588.03 587.83
8.North Kamrup 704.78 615.24 665.34 600.05
9.Darrang West 820.10 836.91 836.90 847.38(Sonitpur West)
10.Darrang East 757.24 760.63 762.62 760.63(Sonitpur East)
11.Nagoan 875.24 990.16 990.16 478.99
12.Golaghat 1049.60 1040.64 1041.66 1040.66
13.Sibsagar 593.55 594.17 594.17 594.17
14.Lakhimpur 947.41 936.80 940.80 936.77
15.Dibrugarh 458.96 458.96 458.96 458.96
16.Doom Dooma 417.25 414.97 434.60 419.23
17.Digboi 638.00 639.01 646.26 648.09
18.Karbi Anglong West 1233.11 1026.46 1026.46 1026.46
19.Karbi Anglong East 706.26 1118.55 1118.55 1118.55
25. Statistical Hand Book,Assam,1981,p.86-87:1988.p 77-78: 1992.p.80-81;

1993.p.86-87.
1979-80 1985-86 1991-92 1992-93

(Provisional)
20.N.C. Hills 633.58 663.17 617.66 617.66

21.Silchar 1761.78 1746.01 1620.94 1520.94
22.Karimganj 634.42 606.84 904.90 909.61
23.Western Assam 588.72 614.95 518.95 622.60
Wild Life
24.Eastern Assam 576.89 498.07 498.07 490.42
Wild Life ,Bokakhat
25.Hamren - 105.38 105.38 105.38
26.Nagoan South - - - 512.75
27.District Council 2980.32 2798.25 3592.91 3588.91
Assam total 20,753.30 20686 21684.522 21488.14
The reserved forests of the State are distributed mainly in a few definite areas .These are along the foothills
of the Himalayas; in deep alluvial land commonly known as the Bhabar and Terai tracts; along the southern edge
of the Brahaputra Valley , touching the foothills of the central hilly region and lastly in the hills surrounding
valley of the Barak and its tributaries.
The evergreen forests of most of the districts are composed of broad leafed species where rainfall is usually
heavy .Both evergreen and semi-evergreen forests flourish in alluvial soil having capacity to retain water .Heavy
rainfall exceeding 254cms. a year is required for their growth. Distribution of plants depend on rainfall and
geographical configuration of the country. In heavy rainfall areas, the incidence of plants of different varieties is
also heavy. The main species found in these forests are Sal, Bonsum, Titasopa, Hollock ,Khokan, Gameri and
other species .Usually these forests contain from Sal (Shorea robusta) to miscellaneous evergreen forest trees .In
tre riverine forests ,Simalu (Bombax malabaricum )and Sisso (Dulbergia Sissso) are found .In the district of
Kamrup ,evergreen trees contain Bhelu (Trameles grandis),Satiana ,Amari, Gandhsorai, Poma ,Bogipoma
,Titasopa, Bota (Morus Lacvigata) Bhomora ,Silikha, Paruli (Stariospermum Chelenoides), Dhuna, Gogra, Maz,
Seling, Borhamthuri, Jaipoma, Gohara, Owtenga, Sal, Jamuk, Koliori, Uriam, Letaku, Ritha, Rudrakhya,
Thekera, etc. Most of these trees as useful as timber,medicinal matter and food. It appears that both evergreen
and semi-evergreen forests are represented by varieties of important trees. It may also mentioned that Sal is one
of the important naturally durable timber species of India,which predominates in the southern part of Kamrup
district.
There is also variation as to the nature of the species found in the different mixed deciduous forests in
Assam. The major portions of the mixed deciduous forests
GENERAL 49
are at stages of succession towards climax forests with the tendency towards turning to evergreen if left to nature
without human interference or gazing. Usually moat of these forest are found along the main river banks. The
principal species in the mixed deciduous forests are Sida, Jia poma, Kuhir, Simalu, Bhomora, Sonaru
Bajiowe ,etc. It may also be noted that the major part of the mixed deciduous forests of poorly stocked,and
comes under the category of open areas. In some cases bamboo and cane are also found extensively. Among
smaller trees Hengunia, Jegau and Kusial are commonly seen in these forests. In certain forests under this
categoty, Digalotu,Gochbhedeki, Leea, Sorat, Nal and other species and plants are noticed.
The riverine forests of the State are mainly found along the banks of big streams or Chaparis of big
rivers. The forest areas found in Kanamakra, Manas, Beki, Pagladiya and Puthimari, Barnadi, Nanoi etc.,are
instances of riverine forests. Usual combination or Khoir and Sissioais found in this group of forests.
In Kamrup, Nalbari and Barpeta districts, this type of forest with Sissoo first coming in and then khoir
has the tendency to change over to the mixed decidious forests if left to nature alone,by subsequent invasion of
species like Simul, Koroi, Udal, Kuhir, Khokan, Gomari, Sida,etc.,and hence is an early stage of succession
towards the climax forests. In the Brahmaputra alluvium of the State,the principal species of this group of forests
is Simul or Simalu.The Jamuna and the Kapili valley alluvoums in central Assam contain the mixed type of
forests and is composed of trees like Koroi, Ajhar, Uriam, Simalu, Outenga,etc., and also in the well drained
soils the better species like Sopa, Poma, Gandhsorai,Amari,etc, are to be seen.
Savannah type : This type of forests occur in patches in most of the reserved forests of the State
particularly in North Kamrup, Darrang, Sonitpur, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Bangaigaon, Goalpara and Nowgong. In
Central Assam,Dry Savannah type forest occurs in open areas in dry miscellaneous forests and are characterised
by species like Ulu,Khagari and other grasses. Besides,grasses like Ikara and Nal are also in this type of forests.
Sporadiccaly in certain areas under this type species like Bejaowe, Simul Sida, Udal, Jamuk ,Kuhir, Khoir,
Bohera, Kum,etc.,are also found.
Natural lost of forests : The grass forests of Savannah type gets burnt every your making the soil very
dry and unfit for the invasion and establishment of other species towards the climax forests. But whenever for
some reasons fire cannot penetrate, there is a tendency towards mixed deciduous forests. Though at present such
forests have not got much commercial importance except for catering to the needs of the villagers for the grazing
of cattle and requirement of agricultural and constructional materials,great improvement can be made to such
forests by improving the stock by artificial regeneration and complete protection from fire.
Forest Wealth :From the point of view of area and products, forest wealth occupies a very significant
place for the economic development of the State. Every year the forest Department of the Government of Assam
earns crores of rupees as State revenues. It may be mentioned here that except for some wood land grants under
the tea estate,most of the forests of Assam are owned by the State. The acquisition of erstwhile Zamindary
forests has brought a substantial part of forest areas to the state control.
Forest areas under the control of the State fall mainly under the broad categories,namely (i)reserved
Forests,(ii) Unclassed State Forests and (iii) Forests under the control of the Autonomous Bodies in the Hills.
The Reserved Forests are by far the most important which can be considered for scientific management. These
forests,besides providing employment and earning handsome revenue to the State,also help for the growth and
development of large number of local saw mills,plywood factories,match factory and various other forest-based
industries in the State and outside. Moreover, most of the forest areas are also reach in respect of their wild life.
The out turn of the forest wealth includes timber for various constructional purposes,round wood for bridges and
for use by the State Electricity Board,for use in the plywood factories,and lastly as firewood for domestic
purposes.
(F) FAUNA (ZOOLOGY) :
Assam along with its North Eastern parts of India is of exceptional biogeographical interest not only to
India but to the world today. it is from this region that the obliteration of the Pre-Tertiary Tethis Sea began
producing in its wake a land connection between the Indian Peninsula and the main Asiatic mass to its north.
The Assam region then onwards served as a great faunal Homeland and a gateway,through which the
indo-Chinese elements of the Oriental Fauna and also that of Palaeoretic could spread to India and colonize the
country. In fact,the history of the post-Tertiary faunal dispersal in India is peculiar,in as much as all the faunal
invasions have come through two great faunal gateways,the first one in the Assam region and the second one in
the Northwest. This was because of the emergence of the rising Himalayas as a great barrier wall concomitant
with the obliteration of the Tethis Sea so that except for the montane species,the faunal dispersal had to take
place through either of those Faunal Passes. Of them,the importance of the Northwest gateway dwindled after
the disappearance of the Siwalik Fauna in the early Pleistocene and the changes in the physiography of the Indo-
Gangetic trough,of which the formation of the Thar of Rajputana Desert was the major event,constituting
barriers to the dispersal and the recolonization from the Northwest. As a result we see that most of the Faunal
dispersal and the recolonization in the recent period have taken place through
GENERAL 51
the Gate-way of Assam,due to which the Indo-Chinese Faunal elements constituted the most dominant entity in
the Fauna of India in general and the fauna of Assam in particular.
Now, however, when we are speaking of the recent times, there is on the contrary, a geological and
climatic discontinuity between Assam and the rest of the States of India, except only the region of similar
climate and biotope in the Western Ghats. The discontinuity,that is readily vissible at the region of Garo-
Rajmahal Gap by distinctive dispersal breaks acts as a Filter-Barrier in the effective dispersal of Assam Fauna
Complex either way.
Thus today, Assam stands as the western-most boundary of the range of many Peninsular species such as
the Spotted Deer and the Mulbery Silkworm. Primarily therefore, the Fauna of Assam are the Indo-Chinese
Complex rather than Peninsular Indian Complex. Even though with the variatable admixture of the Peninsular
and the Ethiopian elements, the Palaeoretic Monatane elements also found intruded into it, making it more
richer than elsewhere in India. However,many of the relict species of the Southern Peninsular India,mostly
confined to the Western-Ghats, have closely related species only found in Assam,even though separated by a gap
over one thousands five hundred kilometres.
Assam eco-habitat thus hold and important pivotal biohabitat in the historic process of the progressive
evolution of the present day Flora and Fauna of India,serving as Homeland and effective Gate-way to floristic-
faunal influx. The analytical study of the Vertebrate/Invertebrate fauna even though so far very badly
neglected,but for eco-biologists it is most essential for a clear comprehension of the derivation, composition,
distribution, origin and their present day status,etc.,of the Assam and to that matter the Indian Vertebrate and
Invertebrate Faunal complex and their association with forest complex.
Vertebrate Fauna Complex of Assam : The vertebrate fauna of Assam is the richest and most
diversified among the comparable habitat regions in India. Because Assam is favoured with a subtropical,
mesothermal climate with copious rainfall that sustains a Biotope eminently suitable for the Indo-Chinese and
Indo-Malayan fauna that occupies it. Its tropical and sub-tropical moist evergreen and semi deciduous forests
enure the best survival of Mammals,Birds,Reptiles Amphibians,Fishes and Arthropods along with other
invertebrates enhancing the pace of their specification by affording varied ecological riches than would have
been possible in the dry and semi dry deciduous forest habitats and the plains of the rest of India, excepting to a
greater extent the Western Ghats.
THE MAMMALS : Out of the total of one hundred and thirtyfive known genera of land Mammals of
India,about eightyfive genera (63%)are repre-
sented in Assam. Out of the eleven orders, the Carnivora are the richest in genera. Followed by Rodentia and
Chiroptera.
In the member of species and subspecies the Rodentia of Assam ranks the highest. But among the
families. Muridae,Viverridae and Vespertilionidae are very well represented. However,the number of genera of
Viverridae in Assam is more than in the rest of India.
Table 1: Mammalian Fauna of Assam
(Synopsis)
Order/Family Genera Species Subspecies
Insectivora
Tupaidae 1 1 3
Talpidae 1 1 2
Soricidae 4 7 10
Chiroptera
Pteropidae 2 3 3
Megadermatidae 1 2 2
Rhinolophidae 3 17 18
Vespartilionidae 9 19 22
Order/Family Genera Species Sub-species

Primates
Lorisidae 1 1 1
Cercopithecidae 2 5 8
Pongidae 1 1 1
Pholidota
Manidae 1 1 1
Carnivora
Canidae 3 3 3
Ursidae 3 3 3
Mustelidae 6 7 7
Viverridae 8 10 13
Felidae 3 8 8
Proboscidea
Elephantidae 1 1 1
Perinsodactyla
Rhinocerotidae 1 1 1
GENERAL 53
Artiodactyla
Suidae 1 1 1
Cervidae 4 6 6
Bovidae 5 5 5
Lagomorpha
Lerporide 2 2 2
Ochotonidae 1 1 1
Rodentia
Sciuridae 6 12 18
Hystricidae 2 2 3
Rhizomyidae 2 2 2
Muridae 11 25 36
Cetacea
Platanistidae 1 1 1
Total (not exhaustive) 86 148 186
11/28
The sixteen genera of mammals,for which Assam and a small west-ward Himalayan strip extending into
Nepal through Bhutan form the southern boundary of their present habitat range. But at present they are totally absent
from the earlier habitat,the Peninsular India and they are as below :
Order Family Genus
Insectivora 1.Tupaiidae I. Tupaia
2.Soricidae ii. Anourosorex
Primates 3.Lorisidae iii.Nyeticebus
4.Pongidae iv.Hylobates
Carnivora 5. Viverridae v.Arctictis
vi.Aretogalida
Prissodactyla 6.Rhinocerotidae vii.Rhinoceros
Artiodactyla 7.Bovidae viii.Budorcas
Rodentia 8.Hystricidae ix.Atherurus
9.Rhizomijidae x.Rhizomys
xi.Cannomys
10.Muridae xii.Chiropodomys
xiii.Micromys
xiv.Hadromys
xv.Eothenmys
xvi.Dacnomys
Total =order 6 Family 10 Genus 15
Of the above 10 families,the Pongidae and Rhizomyidae are practically confined to Assam,Chittagong
and the adjacent hilly tracts. But the mammalian families,which are also present elsewhere in India as mentioned
below are known to be altogether absent from the Assam region.
1.Erinaceidae 6.Hyaenidae
2. Rhinopomatidae 7.Equidae
3. Embellonnridae 8.Tragnlidae
4. Molossidae 9.Muscardinidae
5.Procyonidae
Because by and large the families are the general inhabitants of relatively drier habitats. Moreover,the study of
their extralimital distribution showed that most probably they entered India through the North Western Route.
These two factors can explain their probable absence in the modern times in Assam.
The order Chiroptera is conspicuous by the absence of a number of families and generation from Assam.
Of the seven families of Bats occurring in India,four of them are not represented in Assam. The group Bovidae
are likewise poorly represented as compared to the number of species occurring in the North-Western India.
However,it is true that,almost all the genera found in Assam are also present in the Indo-Chinese region,
like Carpolagus (Lagomorpha) Golunda and Hadromys (Rodentia), Platonista (Cetacea), etc. Therefore, the dis
junctive distribution in the central and Eastern Sub-Himalayan region and Assam has attracted considerable
research attention.
Birds : During the late Pliocene period,due to the great changes and a wide variety of habitats unique flora and
fauna of Assam came to be highly diversified into many beautiful and varied forms. Assam is characterised by
Bhabar forest and Terai Formation and the Siwalik ranges. In the Bhabar tract the climate is comparatively dry
and in the Terai region there are ample deposits of fine silt,the drainage is poor but the water table is quite high.
The natural monsoon forest is found in this region. It was also possible that the avifauna of the Himalayan
Mountain system might have migrated along the narrow passage ways form by the flood plains and gorges of the
Brahmaputra river system,where there are altitudinal as well as east-west variations in this sub-region
constituting the diversified home and playground of the avifauna. Although considerable depletion of forest
cover has taken place,yet Sal(Shrea vobusta)was the dominant tree. The Terai of this region is characterised by
tall grassy(elephant grass)meadows with the savannah vegetation making ideal ecosystem with lowlying beells
and rivers and magnificent tall trees for inhabiting varied species of birds. The major families of Assam birds are
: (Not exhaustive):
Flying birds (Family) Example
1.Podicipididae (Grebs) Podiceps ruficollis

2.Pelicanidae (Pelicans) Pelecanns philippensis
3.Phalacrocoracidae (shag,
Comorants and Darter) Phalacrocorax niger
4.Ardeidae (Herons,
Ergets,Bitterns) Ardeola Grayii grayii
GENERAL 55
5.Ciconiidae (Stocks) Ciconia episcopus
6.Threskiornithidae
(Ibis, Spoonbill) Plegadis faleinellus
7.Anatidae (Ducks,Geese, Swans) Todorna ferruginea
8.Accipitridae ( Kite,
Hawks,Vultures ) Elanus caeruleus
9.Falconidae (falcons) Falco chieqnera
10.Phasianidae (Pheasants,
Patridges,Quails) Gallus gallus murghi
11.Gruidae (Cranes)- Grus nigricollis
12.Ralliedae (Rails,Coots) Gallicrex cinerea
13.Otididae (Bustards) Ardeotis nigriceps
14.Jacanidae (Jacanas) Metopidius indicus
15.Charadriidae (Plovers,
Sandpipers,Snipe,woodcock, etc.) Tringat totanus
16.Rostratulidae (Painted snipe) Rostratula benghalensis
17.Resnrvirostridae (Stilts) Himantopus himantopus
18.Laridae (Gulls,Terns) Larus ridibundus
19.Pteroclididae (Sandgrouse) Pterocles exustus erlangeri
20.Columbidae (Pigeon,doves) Treron phoenicoptera
21.Psittacidae (Parrots) Psittacula Krameri
22.Cuculidae (Cuckoos) Cuculus micropterous
23.Otididae (Florican) Eupodotis benghalensis
24.Strigidae (Owls) Bubo bubo
25.Caprimulgidae (Night Jars) Caprimulgus indicus
26.Apodidae (Swifts) Apus affinis
27.Alcedinidae (King fisher) Alcedo atthis
28.Meropidae (Bee eater) Merops orientalis
29.Coraciidae (Rollers) Coracias benghalenpis
30.Upupidae (Hoopers) Upupa epops
31.Bucerotidae (Horn bill) Tockus birostris
32.Capitonidae (Barbets) Megalaima zeylanica
33.Indicatoridae (Honey guides) Indicator Xanthonotus
34.Picidae (Woodpeckers) Dinopium Benghalensis
35.Pittidae (Pittas) Pitta braelyura
36.Aluudidae (Larks) Mirafra assamica
37.Hirudinidae (Swallows) Hirundo rustica
38.Oriolidae (Orioles) Oriolus xanthornus
39.Pycnonotidae (Bulbuls) pycnonotus cafer
40.Dicruridae (Drongos) Dicrurus adsimilis
41.Sturnidae (Starlings) Aeridotheres Fuscus
45.Corvidae (Jays,Magpies,Crows) Dendrocitta vagabunda
46.Bombycillidae (Waxwing,
Hypocolius) Bombycilla garrulus

47.Campephagidae (Cuckoo,Minvets) Coracina novaehollandiae
48.Irenidae (Fairy blue,Loras,
Leaf birds) Chloropsis cochinchinensis
49.Muscicapidae (Babblers,Fly
catchers, Warblers,Thrushes,
Chats) Copsychus sauaris
50.Paridae (Titmica) Parus major stupae
51.Sittidae (Nuthatches,
Creeper) Sitta castanea
52.Motacillidae (Pipets,Wagtails) Motacilla flava
53.Laniidae (Shrikes) Lanius schach
54.Dicaeidae )(Flower peckers) Dicaeum agile
55.Nectariniidae (Sun Birds) Nectarinia asiatica
56.Zosteropidae (White eye) Zosterops palpebrosa
57.Ploceidae (House sparrows,
Weaver birds,Munias, Wax bills,
Avadavats) Passer domesticus
58.Firngillidae (Chaffinches,
Gold finches) Carduclis carduclis
Thus the habitat of Assam harbours the magnificent number if about 59 families,out of the 78 families of
known birds of India. These 59 families contain denizens of about more than 300 species, some of which have
been presented in the above table. However, in the comparative estimates, the hills, plains, beels and marshes of
the flower reach of the Brahmaputra harbours the greater number of birds species of Assam, as it provides a
mesothermal climate with abundant food resources to nearly all types of birds.
The National bird : Peacock (Pavo cristatus L. Neoruithes, Neognathe, Galliformis)-is a native bird of India
and extends upto Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Peacocks are found in Assam in forests and
plains,particularly in the lower reaches of Brahmaputra valley. The sexual diamorphism is prominent and the
cock is found attaining a length of 1.8m including the 1.2m tail with a variation of + 0.15 to 0.25 m.A tuft of 24
+ 2 bare shafted gold tipped feathers found on the occiput of the head. The hen is dull coloured without tail
coverts. Head of the hen is chestnut brown and face mostly white, the breast is brownish black and green but in
case of the cook the underpart is purplish and face mostly white. The food of Peacock are grain, seeds,
insects,lizards and snakes etc. Resting is on high trees at night and it prefers to live near rivulets, rivers and
streams.
The mail spread its tail in the form of a fan and dances when happy. It produces a loud harsh,screaming
sound-May awe and short gasping shrieks Ka-ann,Ka-ann repeatedly for 6-8 times. The nesting season is from
January to October and lays 3-5 glossy pale cream colour eggs. They move in groups but seasonally sexes
separate.
The white Pea-fowls are considered to be a mutant variety of blue pea fowls.
GENERAL 57
The Burmese species of white pea fowls is Pavo muticus.
Hunting Birds:There are several types and species of hunting birds in Assam. The most famous are
Vultures,King vulture-Sarcogyps Calvus,Bengal vultures-Gyps bengalensis,Scavenger vultures-Neophrom
perenopterus. They live in groups,are carrion feeders and useful scavengers.
Besides vultures,other hunting birds are kites,hawks and falcons. Special mention of some of the species
are-Lagger falcon-Falco biarmicus,Blackwinged Kite-Ellannus caeruleus, Pariah kite-Milvus migrans,
Brahming kite- Haliacetus indicus, Pale Harrier-Circus macrourus, Hawk Eagle-Spizaetus cirrhatus, Fishing
Eagle-Haliacetus leucoryplus, Serpent Eagle-Spilornis cheela, Tawry Eagle-Aquila rapax,Red handed Marlin-
Falco chicquera, Kestrel-Falco tinnunculus,etc. They have several common characteristics but differ mainly in
colour and size. Breeding season is from February to June. They build their nest or trees and lay 3-4 eggs at a
time.
Game Birds :
Several varieties and species of birds are eaten as food in Assam, particularly by the new migrants. The
Tribes,both hills and plains are fond of the birds meet of most species of hill and plain birds. The very common
examples of game birds are Painted Sand grouse-Pterocles indicus, common and grouse-Plaerocle exustus,
Partridge-Francolinus francolinus, Painted partridge- Francolinus pictus, Grey Quail-Coturnix coturnix,
Mountain Quail-Ophrysia superculiosa, Jungle fowl-Gallus gallus, Graylag goose-Auser auser, Large whistling
teal-Dendrocyqna bicolor, Buddy Shelduck-Tadorna ferruginea ch are also some of the game birds.
Special mention may be made of Barheaded geese, the Rajhans, described greatly in our ancient
literature and as the vehicle of Saraswati, the godess of learning. Its quils were used for writing. It is found
throughout winter. It is migratory bird,arrives in Assam by the month of October and departs by mid March.
Singing and talking birds :

The best singing bird is Grey winged Black bird Turus merula. It is a plain grey brown bird with a black
cap and orange yellow ring round eyes, legs and bill. It is found in well wooded hills, in groves and jungles near
towns and villages. The male has a lond melodious song with mimicked calls. Several other members of lark
family fall in this category. The order example are Bush lark-Mirafra assamica, the eastern skylark-Alanda
gulgnla. The other example is Shama-Copchycus malabaricus. It is more popular cage bird than in wild,being
highly prized as a songster.
The best talker birds of Assam is Hill Myna-Grakula religiosa followed by jungle Myna-Acridotheres
Fuscus. They are accomplised mimics and talkers. The other favourite talkers are Grey headed Myna-Sturnus
malabaricus and Pied Myna-SturnusCentra.They are popularly known as cage birds as they can imitate and
repeat a few words.
The other song birds are Koel-Edynamys scopacea. The call of male begin with a loud Kuoo and rises in
scale with successive Kuoo. The other singing birds to add are Indian Cuckoo-Cuculas microptesus,Plaintive
cuckoo-Cacomantis merculinus,
Coucal-Centropus sinesis,Brainfever bird-Cuculus varius which sing day and night during the breeding time.
Pheasants : The pheasants or game birds are colourful and many of them have brilliant metallic plumage. The
entire sub-family Phasaninae is concentrated in Oriental region except Afropavo in Africa.
Pheasants are heavy bodied with well developed bills,powerful legs for pecking and scratching on the
ground. They are known to mankind from very long time for their delicious meat. But due to extreme hunting
and loss of habitat these birds are becoming endangered in recent times. They are diurnal in habit and feed on
mosses, ferns, leaves, insects and occur in the North Eastern, Assam in particular are follows :
1. Ithaginis cruentus,size 45 cm.Blood pheasant.

2. Tragopan satyra,siza 60 cm.Satyr Trogopan
3. Tragopan blythii siza 60 cm.Blyth's Trogopan
4. Tragopan teniminkii siza 60 cm. Temmink's Trogopan
5. Lophophorus impejanus siza 70 cm.Monal Pheasant
6. Lophophorus sclateri siza 70 cm. Sclater's Pheasant
7. Crossoptilon crossopyilon siza 72 cm. Elwe's Pheasant
8. Syrmaticus humiae humiae siza 90 c.Baned-back Pheasant
9. Polyplecfron bicalcaratum siza 60 cm. Peacock Pheasant
10. Paro cristatus siza 122 cm. Indian peafowl.
Reptiles :
Testudines or the chelonians constitute the very ancient group of Reptiles with their lineage going back
to 200 million years. Today they are found living in arid waterless wastelands,lakes,rivers and the oceans.
Exceptionally in Assam they are found in wet areas of westlands,beels, marshes, swamps, ponds and rivers.
To our understanding,the usage of the words 'turtle' and 'tortoise' have given rise to some confusion to
some people, although they are easily found differentiated with the total hardness or partly softness
characteristics of the dome shell..But in fact all the members of the order may be aptly called 'turtles'.
The snakes of the order Reptiles are perhaps the most misunderstood creatures in the world today. There
are many baseless myths and superstitions about them and misconceptions that surround snake bites make them
dreaded creatures. There are in India and Assam, a good number of places where snakes are protected and
worshiped regularly with public festivals.
In fact snake constitute the most successful group of all reptiles in India and Assam in particular.
Ophilogy attracted the attention of naturalists since time immemorial as they are found associated with Gods and
Godesses in the India Mythology. Assam with its diverse habitat and climatic conditions harbours a rich snake
fauna. Out of the nearly 235 species that occur in India,just only about 50 species are venomouse,which live in
habitats where human density is very low or no human habitation. Moreover,
GENERAL 59
most of the vanomous snakes venom are not toxic enough to kill a man or domestic animal.
The group Lizards of the order Reptiles dominated the earth for nearly 150 million years and a few of
them are widely distributed and diversified. Most of them are characterised by a short body with four well
developed limbs, a short flat tongue and an external ear opening. The tongue of lizard is used as a sensory organ
and also for lapping up the prey. No vanomous lizards occur in Assam or in India .
Turtle and Tortoises

The Indian chelonians are classified into five families :
1.Dermochelyidae-Leatherback sea turtles
2.Cheloniidae-Sea turtles
3.Emydidae-Fresh water tortoises
4.Testudinidae-land tortoises
5.Trionychidae-Mud and water turtles.
The first two species do not occur in Assam and its adjoining seven states. Of the family Emydidae,the
Cyclemys dentata is the commonest hill stream tortoise of Assam. The other common species is Cyclemys
mouhati that occur nearly in all the tributaries of Brahmaputra. Both the species are omnivorous.
However,it will be better to treat them systematically to understand their present status in the state of
Assam,although very little research work has been done.
Emydidae-Fresh water tortoises :
Spotted pond turtle- Geoclemys hamiltoni : The species is quite rare in Assam and can be considered as
endangered. They were abundant in the Brahmaputra river valley but now restricted to lower Assam region.
They are carnivorous in habit. Another species of pond tortoise Heosemys was known to be dense forest pond
dweller of the lower reach of the Brahmaputra river is becoming very rate now.
Brahminy River turtle- Hardella thurgi in habitants the Brahmaputra river system. It leads a sluggish,concealed
existence in the river bottom and prefers plant materials as food.
The River turtle-kachuaga kchuaga of the Brahmaputra river system can be distinguished from its larger size and
very smooth appearance. It is very agile and dive down at a slightest alarm.
The canal or beel tortoise-Betagur baska is occasionally found in slow-moving rivers and canals but
abundantly found in beels.It is very timid herbivorous tortoise of Assam now becoming quite rare.
Land tortoise-Testudinidae : The true land tortoises are characterised by their clubshaped, short and broad feet
with two phalanges and entirely webless.
Red-nosed tortoise-Indotenstudo elongata is an Indo-chinese form and occur in the hilly regions of Assam. Its
shell is greenish yellow above and below and has power of withstanding oppressive heat.
The Asiatic tortoise-Indotestudo emys is a big size tortoise preferring to live in the hilly
regions of Assam wherever there is a good supply of water. Due to its large size the movement is slow and gets
easily persecuted.
Mud and fresh water turtle-Trionychidae : The characteristics of this group of turtle is that its proboscis and jaws
are concealed by fleshy lips, flipper like limps, webbed digits with three claws.
The Softshell Turtle-Trionys gangeticus is the common mud turtle of the Brahmaputra river system profusely
distributed into the beels and low lying wetland areas. It prefers large beel canals with muddy bottom,and are
both harbivorous and carnivorous in habit.
Narrow Headed Softshell Turtle-Chitra indica :This species is confined to the sandy. section of the Brahmaputra
river system. It is notorious and fierce in temper and tries to bite when handled. It is carnivorous and feeds
mainly on fish, crash, molluses,etc.
Indian Flap-shell Turtle-Lissemys punctata :It is generally found in the main channels of the Brahmaputra and its
tributaries and could be sen swimming in shallow water of running in thick vegetation of the river bunks. It
burrows in the river and beel bottom during winter months when water recedes. It feeds on fish,fruit and
vegetables grown in the char areas.
Crocodiles :
The general appearance of crocodile is too familiar to us. Because they are known from legends to folk-
tales as an elongated, large tail powerful enough for swimming and a long nostril with long jaws and teeth on it.
In Assam, however,the true crocodiles are not found belonging to the genus Crocodylus but the Gharial
belonging to the genus Gavialis found in the Brahmaputra river system.
The Gigantic Gharial-Gavialis gangeticus :It is only surviving species of the ancient Crocodile family. It was
found swarm in the Brahmaputra,the Ganges,the Chambal and the Mahanadi river system including their
tributaries. But at present its population has severally dwindled due to slaughtering for skin. Now hardly less
than 200 individuals are surviving in those four big River systems. Gharial of India is listed as the most
endangered species of wild life.
Lizards :
About kinds of lizards belonging to 8 families are known to inhabit India. Out of them Assam represents
quite a good number. It will be convenient to deal with them here systematically.
Gekkonidae-Geekos :
These are small gentle lizards characterised by soft dull skin and clinging pads on their feet. They are
found in house,on ground,in forests and trees. Geekos are the first among lizards/reptiles to have developed a
true voice, rivalling the croaking of Toads and chirping of birds. They lay eggs and feed on insect. Of them the
Assam species are :
GENERAL 61
House Geekos :
Wall lizards :Hemidactilus brooki
Smooth House lizard :H.frenatus
Tree Greeko :H.leshehenanlsti :The species enters also house sometimes.
Giant House lizard :Gekko geoko or 'Tokay'
Forest Geekos :Golden Hill Greeko-Calodactylodes oureus
Agamidae -Agamas :
Agamids are large group of lizards adopted to a diversified life in trees,on the grounds and in rocks.
Majority are insectivorous but a few are herbivorous. They lay eggs and are known in India by about 13 genera.
Some of them are found in Assam.
Rock lizards :
The Himalayan Rock lizard-Agama tuberculata :It is a gorgeously coloured lizard with shoulder,breast
and flank turning bright yellow. It feeds on ants and butterflies.
The small rock lizard-Psammophilus blanfordamus :It is smaller in size, less versatile in colour and enter
out houses.
Garden lizards :
The garden lizards are characterised by their compressed body,dorsal crests, long tapering tail and the
throat fan.
The Indian lizard for Blood sucker-Calotes versicolor: It is brown body and it turns it throat, sides of the
head and neck into searlet.
Small Indian lizard-Sitana Ponticeriana: It is a fast runner and the male brings its throat fan into play during
courtship.
The Himalayan lizard- salea sp. (assamensis): They are found in the hedges, bushes and in the tea
plantations. They are beautiful lizards when the male gular pouches assume the brilliant yellow hue.
The Flying Dragon- Draco norvilli :The patagia are beautifully coloured. These are free dwellers and
seldom come to the ground. Their favourite food is the tree ants.
Mountain agamid :
The east Himalayan species- Japalura tricarinata is a terrestrial lizard found in the mountainous region
of the State. It is pale-brownish dorsaly in colour.
Chameleon-Chamaeleonidae :
The Chameleon is strikingly different, pronounced by a high body, a springlike tail, a helmet-like knob
at the nape and round bulging eyes. A chameleon can shoot out its club – shaped tongue to catch insects,its main
food. Chameleon can change colour from green and brown to yellow, white and black and in different ways on
both sides of the body so much so that it is impossible to tell the colour precisely. The only species so far known
from Assam is the Indian chameleon – Chamaeleons Zeylanious that appear in wooded areas and tea gardens.
Skinks Scincidae :
Skinks are burrowing or ground dwelling lizards recognised by their overlapping smooth and shiny
scales, a broad flat tongue and movable eyes. Majority of the skinks lay eggs, only a few bring forth their young
ones. They are primarily insectivorous, although a few feed upon plant matter during adulthood. The so far
known 25 species of Assam are as follows:
1. Mabuya dissimilis
2. M. inotata
3. M. macularia
4. M. carinata
5. M. multifasciata
6. M. tytleri
7. M. rugifera
8. M. quadricarinata
9. M. beddomii
10. M. trivittata
11. Dasia Subcaerulea
12. Spheno morphusindicum
13. S. dussumieri
14. S. Himalayanum
15. S. Ladaceuse
16. S. Macrotis
17. S. Beddomei
18. S. Laterimaculata
19. Ablepharus grayanus
20. Riopa albopunctata
21. R. punctata
22. R. Lineata
23. Chalcides pentadactylus
24. Barkudia insularis
25. Sepsophis punotatus.
Worm Lizards- Dibamidae :
The glassy sealed Indian worm lizard found in Assam is Dibamus novae. This burrowing lizard to a
layman,with its vermifarm body and tiny concealed eyes under the skin appears like a slender snake. It is devoid
of limbs, head is blunt and conical like worms.
GENERAL 63
Lacertids-Lacertidae :
The lacertids are wide spread typical lizards because of the slender bodies, well developed legs and long
pointed tails. They preferably dwell in sandy grassy and rocky areas, shed their tail which is regrown. Majority
are insectivorous although a few practise cannibalism. The following species of lacertids are known to occur in
the geographical boundary of Assam.
1.Trakidromus sexylineatus khasiensis

2.Cabrita leschenaulti
3.C jerdoni
4.Ophisops jerdoni
5.O. Beddomei
6.O.microlepis
7.Eremias guttulata
8.E.brevirostis
Glass snake-Anguidae
The glass snake lizard- Ophisaurus gracilics posses a snake like head and very graceful in its
movements. This lizards in found only in Assam hills, Khasi hills and Darjeeling in India. Despite all its traits
like a snake, it is very mild creature, hide under logs and stones during the day and as darkness sets it feeds on
insects.
Monitor lizard :Varanidae
Monitor is the largest of the living lizards. It has an elongated mobile head and unusually long neck and
tail,snake like forked tongue. All monitors are scavengers or predators and they shallow their food unlike other
lizards. Of the four kinds of monitors, three are living in Assam. The Indian monitor—Varanus bengalensis is the
commonest of them and it is made with in the remote forest and outskirts of Assam villages. The water monitor-
Varanus salvator is the second largest living lizard of the world and next to Komodo Dragon of Indonesia.
Adults are dark with yellow sports and climb the trees for food. The yellow Monitor: Varanus flavesceus is very
common. Its colouration is seen at its best during the monsoon with red-cross band but it fades by the retreating
monsoon.
Snakes : Snakes live in a variety of habitat like human dwellings, old building, marshy lands, beels,
rivers, agricultural areas, forests and mountains. No snakes except the blind snakes,boas and pythons have any
trace of legs. They have no movable eyelids, lack external ear opening and hence can not hear normal way,but
their capable of picking up earth-borne vibrations by their sensitive bodies. The tongue is deeply forked and its
function is to probe the senses of taste, smell and touch. Majority of the Assam snakes are egg layers although a
few can produce young ones. Assam snakes vary in size from >10 cm.to 6 m in length-in python.
The snake fauna of Assam comprises the following families.
1.Typhlopidae :Blind snakes :

There are small, worm-like snakes with smooth, shiny scales, hiding under logs, humus and even in the
flower pots. About 14 kinds of them are found in India. Some of the Assam species are:
Brahminy blind snake : Ramphotyphlops braminus :It is reddish brown and black in colour, growing up
to 17 cm.
Indo-Chinese blind snake :Typhlops diardi :It is larger than brahmini, growing upto 43 cm. brown above
and paler below in colour.
2.Uropeltidae:Roughtails.The only species known from Assam so far is the Ocellate roughtail- Uropeltis
ocellatus recognised by the oceli on its back,the tail is orange yellow ending in rugose shield with spicules.
3.Boidae:Pythons: Pythons are primitive snakes, have a stout body and short tail. There are two kinds of boas
and pythons each in India. The Assam species are :
India Red boa-Eryx johni :About 96 cm. Long, colour slightly reddish,the tail is blunt and rounded
exhibiting a two headed snake.
The sand boa-Eryx conica:About 1 m.long, common in dikes and rice fields. It hunts rats at night.
Rock python-Python morulus:About 6m.long, bold spots on the body and short tail. It is a sluggish
creature leaves its resting place when provoked or hungry.
4.Colubridae-Colubrid snakes:
This family compromises a huge number of harmless snakes. Some of them are arboreal,some
terrestrial,some fossorial and some agnatic .About 130 species of them occur in India. The known Assam species
are :
The Rat snake :Ptyas mucosus is a familiar snake, that speeds away in a flash mainly in agricultural
areas. It enters sheds and farms in search of rats.
Wolf snake- Lvcodon aulicus :It is a small slender secretive snake,hides by the day in coil and gets active
at night.
Trinket snake-Elaphe helena is a slender,glossy,chocolate brown colour with two prominent dark tripes.
Kukri snake:Oligodon arnensis :It is a pretty snake occasionally found in out houses and big
bungalows.It can be recognised by the black marks on the head and bars on the neck.
Vine snake:Ahaetulla nasuata:It is the most common tree snake. It is parrot green in colour and has long
tail.
The Green whip-Ahaetulla nasuta :
Bronzeback tree snake—Dendrelaphis trisks is a graceful snake with a long tail,it hides most part of the
day in bushes,fast moving and fierce in temperament biting readily.
GENERAL 65
Golden tree snake—Chrysopelea ornata is a colourful snake marked with reddish rose spots on its
back,scrub and thick jungle dwellers,with remarkable power of spinning on the tree branches,venomous.
Indian cat snake:Boiga trigonata :is characterised by its bulging eyes and vertical pupils,long feathery
tongue,narrow neck,triangular head and zigzag marks on the body. It can climb trees resting in coil under shade.
Lightly or mildly venomous.
Himalayan cat snake:Boiga sp is a common snake of the thick jungle ,feed on tree frogs and lizards.
Sometimes on birds and mice .
Stripped keelback -Amphiesma stolata is the common grass snake , recognised by the prominent yellow
stripes on the body .It is gentle and hunts on frogs and toads .
Common water snake -Xenochrophis piscator has a thick set body ,nostrils on top of the head .two black
streaks behind the eyes. It is harmless but fierce in temper ,feeds on arthropods frogs.
Green keelback -Macropirluhoden pumbicolor is a water snake ,mostly prevalent in the forest areas.
When threatened, it.flattens its neck into a hood, has a v-mark on its head .
Dasypeltidae-Egg eating snake:

Indian egg eater – Elacliston westermanni is a unique snake as it feeds exclusively on birds
eggs. Harmless but mimics dreaded variety because of its body coloration and black and yellow spots .
Elapidae-Cobras and Kraits (common venomous)
Common Cobra -Naja naja live in plains and jungles, natural hunting places are old termite mounds
,ruined buildings, rock pilesand rat holes
Assam Cobra- Naja naja Kanothia recognised by a white circle round a black spot.
The imposing characteristics is its hood formed as it raises the anterior portion of the body and spread
the ribs in the neck region.
King Cobra—Ophiophagys hannah is the most feared snake,in size next to python. The temperament of this
deadly snake is highly unpretictable.
Common Krait—Bumgarus caeruleus is recognised by its bluish black marks with white cross lines.It
has a very large pupil and nocturnal in life. It eats lizards mice,rats and other snakes.
Bandad Krait—Bungaraus fasciatus is distinguished by the prominent broad yellow and black stripes on
its back.It is a plains living snake rarely seen in jungle.
Viperidae—Vipers and pitvipers

Big India viper—Vipera russelli is distinctive in colouration and markings,as it posses 23-30 large
reddish brown oval spots.It prefers rock crevices,grassy and thorny bushes as its abode.
Bamboo Pit Viper—Trimeresurus gramineus It is a green snake living in bamboo bushes,harmonising
the colour with the background. It is timid and slow to defend itself. It lives on small mammals,birds,lizards.
Amphibia
Assam is land which enjoys wide variety of landscape, vegetation, climate and attitude having within
this limits scrub-jungles,forests of various types,inland waters and even altitudinal zones. As such,the Amphibian
fauna of the State is rich and varied. But the large scale destruction of habitats,particularly deforestation,lowland
earth filling,hill cutting and other industrial activities threatened the Amphibia fauna to such proportion that
some of the species known about 75 years back are no longer available in their earlier range of habitats. Of late,it
is heartening to note that there is some attempt to save whatever left over.
Amphibians includes frogs,toads,newts,salamanders and caecilians .They exhibit endless

variations,diverse colour patterns and adaptations to the prevailing habitats. They are seen on land,in water,on
trees,under stones,and even underground.
The known(not exhaustive)order and families of Amphibians of Assam are as below:

1.Order:Cymnophiona or Apoda : Fam- Ichthyophidae
The Caecilians :
Limbless amphibia,primarily confined to the forest where they lead a concealed life,in damp, slushly
earth,snake like a general appearance and seldom seen above ground,except during very heavy rains. The trail is
short or waiting ,eyes are minute and functionless.
The Eastern Himalayan Caecilians- Gegeneophis carnosus, G.fulleri and G.ramaswami,The Indian
caecelian -Ichthyophis sikkimensis.
2.Urodela or Caudata :family -Salamandridae :
The Newts :
The newts are sometimes confused with lizards as their body is lizardlike and the laneal tail retained throughout
their life. Limbs are short and feeble,incapable of rapid movement,spend more time in water. The only species
found in Assam is the Indian Newt-Tylototriton verrucosus. It is characterised by tuberculen skin and large
parotids.
3.Order Anura or Salientia :Frogs and Toads :

Members of this order are the most conspicuous of all Amphibians. However,for a layman,the confusion
between Frogs and Toads persists. A toad may be a real frog but a frog not necessarily be a toad. We call an
Amphibian a Frog which lives in or near water with a smooth slimy skin,while the toad is terrestrial with a rough
and warty skin.
Family :Ranidae -The true frogs :

Skipper frog - Rana cyanophlycyis is the commonest frog of Assam. It is recognised by a presence of rounded
dark spots on its back and limb,has good ability for floating,small in size.
Cricket frog -Rana Limnocharis,small size,commonly met with a marshy areas, paddy fields and
ditches,recognised by a vertebral band.
GENERAL 67
Green frog-Rana hexadaetyla, most aquatic of all frogs. Lives in dense aquatic vagetation, leaf green in
colour.
Bull frog- Rana tigerina. Known for its loud voice and big size, having leopard like spots and median
longitudinal trip .Call is resonant quonk-quonk.
Himalayan Frog-Rana liebigii, it exhibits the secondary sexual characters, male has thickened forelegs
with conical black spines.
Assam Frog- Rana assameus.s is endemic to Assam and commonly found throughout the State.
Arunachal Frog -Micrixalus borcalis, a small frog whose vomerines is lacking.
Assam Frog- Amolops afghanus .A formosus and A himalayanus . The tadpoles of them found in Assam
hills with unusual large oval parotids.
Family- Rhacophoridae (Pat Beng) :The rhacophorids or tree frogs:
They are found in the plains human dwellings and thick jungles of Assam. They are represented by two
genera- Rhacophorus and Philantus throughout India . Some of the known species are :Rhacophorus bedimii .R.
lencomystax ,R. moloch .Philantus annandalei, P. beddomii, P. charrapnnjiae, P.garo ,etc.
Family -Microhylidae (Narrow mouthed Frogs):
The microhylids are small, stout legged ,burrowing Amphibians, which are not found in or near water
.except during the breeding season. The narrow pointed head and tiny bulging eyes are the marking character to
spot a microhylid. They remain hidden during the day in their soil burrows in loose sandy soil and become active
at night .
The Melanobatrachus indicus , known as black microhylid, is black with a scarlet band near groin and
blotch scarlets on the chest. It is very rare. The microhyla is well represented in Assam . Microhyla berdmorei
are abundant in lower Assam and Garo hills. The ornate Microhylid ,Microhyla ornata is a beautiful frog with a
median sepia marking . It is slender and found among the dried grassy bushes. The Red microhylid , Microhyla
rubra is astout bodied frog whose back is marked by broken patches with a red streak in the middle. The genus
Uperodon is represented by Uperodon systoma , the fat frog with plumpy body and Uperodon globulosum,
whose adults are remarkable burrower and emits characteristics sound like the bleating of a goat. The genous
Kaloula is represented by a single .species, the Kaloula taprobanica is the prettiest of all the Indian frogs . The
back is dark brown ,head in yellowish ,and a yellow band runs from the eyes to the hind feet . It produces deep
guttural call like “Wau -auhh” and are nuisance at night. There are three species that are known inhabiting
Assam, of the genus Ramenella . They are Ramanela variegata,the termitaria frog, Ramanella minor ,R,
montona and Ramanella tringuleris.
Family = Bufonidae (Chuck Vekuli) .
The Bufos or Toads are the largest group of Amphibians. They could be easily recognised by their fat
body , short legs ,awkward hopping and the presence of a pair of parotid glands behind the eyes. These glands
secrete a poisonous substance that cause burning sensation in the eyes and mucus linigs.
The common Indian toad is the Bufo melanostictus. It has got black tipped spines in the body with wasts.
They haunt mainly the dwelling places hiding in crevices, corners,below stones, logs, etc. It is found on
roads,gardens and courtyards. The bufo partictalis is recognised by the well defined parietal ridge and half
webbed toes. The Padostibes Kempi abundantly found in Garo hills and lower Assam is an expert climber. The
Ansonia ornata is known as Torrent toad, developed webbs between the toes and the larvae undergo a hazardous
aquatic growth phase in running hill or forest streams developing snakelike mouth and flat body with a muscular
tail. The species Bufoides meghalayana itself constituted a genus, the Bufoides that are available in Assam and
Meghalaya. The peculiarity of the toad is absence of parotid glans.
Family= Pelobatidae (odd looking anurous)
The members of this family are called odd looking anurous, with wide mouth, vertical pupil, moist
glandular skin and spade shaped horney projections on the sides due to which they are popularly known as
'Spade-foots'. The dig down in mountainous and sandy areas,keep away from light for weeks or months together.
The genus Leptobrachium is represented by a single species,the Leptobrachium hasselts from Assam and khasi
hills. The other species belong to Megophrys genus with four species Megophrys lateralis, M.parva,M.boettgeri
and M.monticola. The tadpoles of the Megophrys posses umbrella mouths.
Family = Hylidae (The Tree frogs):
The Tree frogs are recognised by the original finger tips and toes with an adhesive disc for clinging on
trees. They are tree climbers and lead and arboreal life. Most of them are green in colour and change their boy
lines to pale green to shining green depending upon the seasons.
The Hyla annectens is a danizen of the forests of Assam and Meghalaya. It makes its presence felt by its
loud voice,inflating the vocal sac that buldge the whole throat far exceeding the size of the head. After
mating,the male and female swim together for several days.
Endemicity – The endemicity and distribution of Amphibia are usually governed by the availability of
the breeding sites and dampness of the habitat. The North Eastern Sub-Himalayan Assam and its adjoining
states experience more than 400- 500 cm. for rains annually,so this region is one of the favourite areas of
Amphibian fauna above that of Western Ghats which processes moist evergreen forest with rainfall of about 400-
500 cm annually. Therefore,the Amphibian endemicity is basically localised in those two areas of India.
Fishes:
The fresh water fish resources of Assam and N.E. india are very rich and varied in forms. Because in the
Brahmaputra and Barak valley there are many rivers,streams,hill streams,ponds,natural beels and extensive wet
land and marshes which support a great diversity of fish life. Zoogeographically also the fresh water fauna of
N.E. India is very interesting and offers exceptional opportunity to study the diversity of forms.
GENERAL 69
From the known distribution of primary fresh water fishes it has been indicated that the fish fauna comprised of
three components:Indian, Indo-Chinese and Indo-Malayan with indigenous Gondwana elements and intrusive
components. Of course the Assam fish fauna is dominated by the Indo-Chinese elements as the Indo-Malayan
component is comparatively poor. The original fauna found retained on isolated sub-Himalayan hilltops and the
hill-tops of the peninsular India,as in those areas even today the suitable ecological niches are available. It is
now well known that there was fish faunal transgression from the N.E.India via the Assam valley gate-way and
also through Eastern Ghat.
The accounts of primary fresh water fishes occurring within the limit of N.E India with special reference
to Assam have been tried to be given here. So this account is not exhaustive but informative and in certain cases
accounts of fishes which visit the fresh water through the Brahmaputra river course via Bangladesh and West
Bengal have been included but not the exotic species.
Family—Anguillidae (freshwater Eels)

The body elongate,cylindrical,stout,pointed,scales rudimentary,anal fin long. The Anguilla anguilla a
fresh water visitor known to occur in the lower reach of the river Brahputra.
Family—Ophicthidae (snake eel)

The body elongate,snake like,head short and conical,no caudal fin. The species Pisodonophis boro is a fresh
water visitor of the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
Family---Clupeidae (Shads)
The abdomen with scutes,barbels absent,single dorsal fin. The Corica soborna was a visitor to fresh
water in the lower reach of the Brahmaputra. the Hilsa ilisha is a regular visitor of the Brahmaputra river
course. The other species,Gudusia chapra with oblong compressed body is found in Assam valley.
Family—Notopteridae (feather backs):

The body strongly compressed laterally,dorsal profile is remarkably convexed,eyes large,no barbel. Two
species are known from Assam,they are Notopterus chitala and Notopterus notopterus.They are mostly pond and
river inhabitants in the Brahmaputra valley,and the Barak valley.
Family—Cyprinidae (carps):
The family contains the largest group of fresh water fishes of Assam. The body of the carps is generally
compressed,abdomen rounded of cutting,eyes not covered with skin,scales present,jaws toothless,mouth
protrusible,gill openings wide,dorsal ray osseous or articulated.
The carp genus Schizopyge contains about nine species of Snow trouts.with elongate subcylindrical
bodies,abdomen rounded,without suctorial disc but with four barbels,mostly in the Kashmir Himalaya,of them
two species namely Schizopyge esocims and S.progastus were known to occur in the Brahmaputra upper reach
hill streams flowing from Arunachal Pradesh.
The other genus Schizothorax -snow trouts,whose lower slip modified into papillated sucker having four
barbels contains three species of which Schizothorax richardsoni along with S. guttatus and S. plagiostomus
(synonyms)occur in the hills streams flowing from Bhutan hill of sub Himalayan region.
The genus Chela whose body long compressed,abdomen keeled contains two species,the chela cashius
and C.laubuca are known to be distributed along the Brahmaputra drainage system.
The genus Securicula with strongly compressed elongate body and sharply keeled abdomen, contains
only one species,Securicula gora known to occur in Assam.
The genus Salmostoma, having compressed elongate body and keeled abdomen contains nine species of
which Salmostoma bachaila, S.clupeoides and S.phulo are known to occur in Assam,but the occurrence of other
species also can not be ruled out.
The genus Esomus, with compressed elongated body,rounded abdomen and four barbels, known to
contain only two species of which Esomus danricus known to occur in Assam and adjoining states.
The genus Danio having subcylindrical compressed and elongate body with rounded abdomen and
longitudinal band represented by six species and two sub-genera Danio and Brachydanio. The species of Danio
that occur in Assam are Danio aequipinnatus,D.dangila and D.deyario. The sub-genus Brachydanio is known by
one species only,the Brachydanio (Danio)rerio.
The genus Rasbora,with compressed elongated body and rounded abdomen is also represented in India
by six species,of which Rashbora daniconius and R.rasbora are found in Assam.
The genus Aspidoparia has subcylindrical elongate body, rounded abdomen and without barbels
represented by one species,the Aspidoparia jaya in Assam.
The genus Amblyaryngoden having moderately elongate subcylindrical bodywithout upper lip and
barbels represented in Assam by one species,the Amblypharyngodon mola.
The genus Barilius having subcylindrical moderately elongate body with sharply pointed head is
represented by Barilius barna,B.bendelists,B,vagra and the game fish species B.bola,the Indian trout.
The genus Semiplotus with compressed deep and short body,inferior transverse mouth without barbels is
represented in India by one species from Assam,the Semiplotus semiplotus.
The genus Oreichthys with deep short body,transverse small mouth without barbels is represented by a
single species,Oreichthys cosuatis.
The genus Puntius having compressed,deep,moderately elongate to short body with short head is
represented in Assam by five species. They are Puntius, Chala p.conchonius, P.sophore,P.ticto and P.sarana the
culturable species and favourite to the fish eaters of Assam.
The genus Osteobrama with compressed, deep short body is represented by one species in Assam,the
Osteobrama cotio. The other five species do not occur in Assam.
GENERAL 71
The genus Lebeo has moderately elongate body somewhat inferior narrow mouth, lips continuous
forming a lateral fold represented by twenty one species in India,of which Labeo rohita, L.calbasu, L.gonius,
L.bata, L.buggut and L.dyochelus are found in Assam as important fish. However, the last two species are very
uncommon in their distribution in the North Eastern States and Assam.
The genus Acrossocheilus having compressed elongated body with medialy interrupted labial fold and
two pairs of barbels,represented by only one species from Assam. This single species is Acrossocheilus
hexagonolepic.
The genus Chagunius with elongate body subterminal U-shaped mouth and two pairs of barbels is
represented by a single species,the Chagunius chagunio.
The genus Tor (Mehseer) with moderately compressed elongate body and two pairs of barbels,is
represented by five species in India,of which Tor putitora,Tor progenius and Tor tor are found in Assam mostly
along the Bhutan hills and sub-Himalayan tracks.
The genus Cirrhinus has compressed elongate body, with transverse broad mouth and small barbels
present or absent,found represented in India with five species. Of these are Cirrhinus mrigala and C.reba are
found in Assam.
The genus Catla having deep shaped body,anteriorly arched wide mouth,without upper lip and barbels
has only one species,the Catla catla in Assam.
The genus Crossochelus having somewhat elongate body,very prominent snout overhanging the mouth
with a pair of rostral barbels has three species of which Crossocheilus latius and C.burmanicus is known to be
found in Assam region.
The genus Garra has compressed short body,rounded abdomen,semicircular transverse inferior mouth
and a suctorial disc on the chin with one or two pairs of barbels has been represented by twelve species of which
three rapid stream inhabiting species are found in Assam. They are namely,Garra gotyla,G.lamta,and G.mullysh.
Family – Psilorhynchidae
The psilorhynchid cyprinoids have characteristically ventrally attend body,devoid of scales and barbels.
The genus Psilorhynchus having ventrally flattened sub cylindrical body with obtusely pointed flat snout
with interiorly transverse small mouth has been represented by four species. Of these,the Psilorhynchus balitora
and P.sneatio are found in Assam.
Family - Himalopteridae
The family possesses ventrally much flattened,moderately to greatly depressed body.
The genus Balitora having ventrally fattened, anteriorly greatly depressed flat head with transverse
inferior small mouth and paired barbels has been represented by three species,of which the balitora bruice is
found in Assam.
Family – Cobitidae
The family fishes possess anteriorly compressed,somewhat cylindrical short body,with papillated thick
fleshy lips.
The genus Aborichthys have compressed, greatly elongated body with transverse,narrow inferior mouth
papillated thick lips and barbels but without per-orbital spine. Three species are known from India of which
Aborichthys garoensis and A. Kempi are found from the lower reach of the Brahmaputra, Garo and Abor hills.
The genus Noemacheilus having almost depressed almost cylindrical body,the small mouth transverse
and inferior, lips are thick,fleshy and papillated and 4-8 barbels, are normally seen. There are about 48 species of
this genus. of which so far only Noemacheilus botia and N.rupecola are known from Assam.
The genus Botia having moderately deep sort oblong body with narrow inferior mouth and 6-8 barbels is
represented with 8 species in India. Of these Botia dario,B.lohachata and the B.rostrata are known to be present
in Assam.
The genus Neoeucirrhichthys having slightly compressed elongate body with horse -shoe shaped inferior
mouth and rudimentary mandibulan barbels at the corner of mouth is represented by only one species,
Neocuicirrhichthys maydelli from Assam only in India.
The genus Acanthophthalmus have a strongly compressed elongate body, small inferior. Mouth with 6
barbels is known by only one species. The Acanthophthalmus pangia from lower reach of Assam, N.E. Bengal
and Bangladesh.
The genus Somileptes having stout cylindrical elongate body with horse-shoe shaped inferior mouth,
long snout and swollen head with 6 barbels is known by one species only the Somileptes gongota from Assam.
N. Bengal and Bangladesh.
The genus Lepidocephalus having moderately compressed elongate body, somewhat arched, inferior
mouth and six barbels are represented in India by 8 species. Of these except Lepidocephalus thesmalis,which is
found in South India, rest of the species including the well recognised L. guntea are represented from Assam and
the Himalayan drainage.
Family Bagridae
This family contains these fishes which have compressed,more or less elongated body with wide gill-
cleft,and non-protractible mouth.
Of this,the genus Rita fishes have compressed short body,depressed large head and three pairs of barbels
are known by 4 species from India,of which Rita rita is known to be found in Assam.
The genus Batasio has compressed short body, crescentic inferior mouth and 4 pairs of barbels and
represented in India by three species.Of these the Batasio batasio and B.tengana species are found in Assam.
The genus Aorichthys look like Mystus and represented in India by two species, Aorichthys aor and
A.seenghala and both the species are found in Assam and adjoining parts.
GENERAL 73
Family : Siluridae
This silurid fishes has compressed elongate body,depressed broad and small head,obliquely cleft superior
mouth,2-3 pairs of barbels and without spine anal fins quite long.
The genus Ompok has compressed elongate body, depressed but broad small head, mouth superior with
oblique cleft,two pairs of barbels. This genus is represented by three species,all of them found in Assam. The
species are Ompok bimaenlotus,ompok pabda and Ompok pabo.
The genus Wallago has a compressed elongate body,depressed large head, snout spatulate and two pairs
of barbels.It has got only one species the Wallago attu which is found abundantly in Assam.
The Genus Silurus has a compressed elongate body with an obtusely rounded snout and two pairs of
barbels and is represented by three species of which Silurus cochinchinensis is widely distributed in Assam but
the other two species S.goae and S.berdmorei are yet to be properly studied in Assam.
Family : Schilbeidae
The fishes of this family has compressed body very wide gill-opening,2-8 barbels,the anal fin is very
long and separated from the caudal fin.
The genus Ailia has compressed short body generally compressed short head and 4 pairs of barbels is
represented by two species,Ailia coila and A Punctata are found in Assam and its adjoining areas.
The genus Pseudeutropius has compressed elongate body with four pairs of barbels, and adipose short
dorsal fin.The genus is represented by two species but uptill now none of them have been reported from Assam.
The genus Clupisoma having compressed elongate body,blunt oval head and four pairs of barbels is
represented in India by four species. Of them the Clupisomo garna and C.montana occur in Assam. Another
species,the clupisoma prateri is quite prevalent in the Himalyan drainage system,but its occurrence in Assam is
quite rare.
The genus Eutropiichthys has compressed elongate body,conical head,four pairs of barbels and a short
dorsal adipose fin is represented in India by three species of which Eutropiichthys murius and E.vacha are
recorded from Assam and N.E region.
Family :Pangasiidae
The fishes of this family are larger in size, have 4 barbels,and fin long but not confluent with caudal.
The genus Paggasius has compressed elongate body,slightly longer upper jaw with two pairs of
barbels,is represented in India by three species. Of these the species Pungosius pungosius occurs in Assam and
its adjoining states.
Family : Amblycipitidae
ASSAM STATAE GAZETTEER 74
The fishes of this family are Loach like, having anteriorly depressed and posteriorly compressed body.
There are 8 barbels and the adipose dorsal fin smooth.
The genus Amblyceps having compressed,subcylindrical elongate body.four pairs of brbels and wide
transverse mouth represented by only one species,the Amblyceps mangois abundantly available in the foothills of
the Himalaya and in some parts of Assam.
Family : Sisoridae
The fishes of this family have anteriorly depressed body and compressed tail,the adhesive apparatus
sometimes present or absent but there are 8 barbels.
The genus Bagarius having elongate body,flattened abdomen upto pelvis, greatly depressed, large head,
crescentic wide mouth and 4 pairs of barbels with forked caudal fin each part producing flamentus prolongations
is represented by one species,the Bagarius bagarius which is quite prevalent in Assam.
The genus Gagata has short compressed body transverse ventral mouth and 4 pairs of barbels is
represented in India with 3 species. Of which,the species Gagata cenia could be found in Assam and adjoining
states.
The genus Nangra has short compressed body,narrow transverse ventral mouth and 4 pairs of barbels is
represented in India by 3 species. Of these the species Nangra viridesceus is known to occur in Assam and
adjoining areas.
The genus Erethistes having compressed short body,flattened abdomen upto pelvic base narrow
crescentic ventral mouth and 4 pairs of barbels is represented by one species,Erethistes punsilus in Assam and
adjoining states.
The genus Erethistoides has greatly compressed elongate body with a hoodlike projection of the snout
and 4 pairs of barbels is known from India with two sub-species of which,the Erethisloides montana occurs in
Assam.
The genus Hara having compressed moderately elongate body,flat abdomen transverse ventral mouth
and 4 pairs of barbels known from Assam by two species,Hara hara and H. horai. The Hara jerdoni is common
species of Assam.
The genus Conta has a compressed short body, transverse ventral mouth,the plaited abdominal skin fold
forms an adhesive pad and there are four pairs of barbels. The genus is presented by two species, Conta conta
and Conta elongata which is profuselyfound along the Garo and Meghalaya hill tracts and in the Brahmaputra
valley.
The genus Laguvia has compressed short body,subcylindrical abdomen,wide subterminal transverse
mouth and 4 pairs of barbels,is represented in Assam by Laguvia showi out of the 4 species known so far from
India.
The genus Glyptothorax having greatly or moderately depressed elongate body,slightly flat to rounded
body,narrow transverse inferior mouth, the ventral surface with and adhesive pad and 4 pairs of barbels,is
represented by 20 species in India. Of them the Calyptothorax brevipinnis,G.horai,G.pectinopterus,G.striatus
and G.trewavasae are well known from this region.
The genus Euchiloglanis has an elongate body,flattened abdomen upto the pelvic fin,transverse ventral
mouth and 4 pairs of barbels,is represented by two species from
GENERAL 75
the N.E. States including Assam. They are Euchiloglanis hodgari and E.Kamengensis.
The genus Exostoma havingelongate body, flattened abdomen upto pelvis,more or less crescentic ventral
mouth and 4 pairs of barbels is represented so far by one species, Exostoma labiatum from N.E. Hills and
Assam.
The genus Pseudecheneis has an elongate body, flat abdomen upto palvic base. The head is having
ventrally a broad, oval adhesive apparatus,transverse inferior mouth and 4 pairs of barbels, is represented by
only one species the Pseudecheneis sulcatus from foot hill region of N.E. States and Assam.
Family : Clariidae (Catfish)

The fishes of this family posses large, compressed elongate body, gill opening wide and there are well
developed 4 barbels. The anal fin long and not confluent with the caudal fin.
The genus Clarius has a compressed elongate body, fairly wide transverse terminal mouth and 4 pairs of
barbels,is represented in India by three species,of which the Clarias baitrachus abundantly occurs in Assam and
adjoining parts.
Family : Heteropneustidae (Stinging catfish)

The fishes of this family have compressed but moderately elongate body,gill-openings wide and there
are well developed 8 barbels.The anal fin long, nearly reaching or united with the caudal fin.
The genus Heteropneustes has a compressed elongate body,transverse, narrowterminal mouth Gill-
Chamber with accessory air sacs extending backward to nearly caudal region and 4 pairs of well developed
barbels,is represented by a single species Heteropneustes fossillis from Assam.
Family : Chacidae
The chacid fishes have large size robust body,but the head and the anterior part of the body is
depressed,there are feebly developed 6 barbels,the adipose dorsal fin is smooth and confluent with the caudal fin.
The genus Chaca has anteriorly depressed short body,abdomen flat,very wide arcuate subterminal
mouth and there are three pairs of barbels,is represented by a single species the Chaca chaka from Assam and
adjoining areas.
Family :Olyridae
The Olyrid fishes have a loach like elongate body,8 barbels, pectoral fin with a sharp serrated spine and
the anal fin is of moderate length.
The genus Olyra has an elongate body,a crescentic narrow anterior mouth, four pairs of barbels is
represented by 3 species, Olyra horae, O.Kempi and O.longicauda in Assam.
Family :Belonidae(Gars)
The fishes of this family have a slender,elongate body,jaws are elongate like a beak,wide gill openings
and dorsal fin without spine.
The genus Xenentodon has a compressed subcylindrical elongate body,jaws are
elongated into a break, abdomen rounded, is represented in Assam by the species Xenentodon cancila.
Family : Syngnathidae( pipe fish)

The fishes of this family have tubular body with cristae and ridges, a single dorsal fin without spine,the
tail not pretensible and there is an egg pouch on the abdomen to tail region.
The genus Dorichthys has an elongate body covered with transversely striated shields, rounded abdomen
and the jaws are produced into a beak like projection. There is no barbel and the abdomen has an egg pouch.
Two species are known of this genus of which Dorichthys unculus so far known to occur in Assam.
Family : Channidae (Murrels)

The fishes of this family have anteriorly subcylindrical elongate body with single dorsal and anal fins.
The genus Channa having anteriorly cylindrical elongate body,the dorsal and anal fins are free from
caudal,is represented by 8 species in India. Of those, Channa marulius, Corientalis, C.punctatus, C.amphibious
and C.striants are very commonly found in Assam.
There is small to medium species which is very commonly distributed in Assam and known by the
species C.gachna gachna.
Family :Synbranchidae (Mud eels)

The fishes of this family have small to moderate body, the dorsal and anal fins are represented by the
median folds only.
The genus Monopterus having compressed much elongate body,the gill opening without lateral folds but
internally attached to isthmus and the caudal tip is bluntly rounded,is represented by 4 species in India of which
Monopterus albus and M.cuchia are found in Assam.
Family :Chandiae (Glass fish)

The fishes of this family have compressed, oblong elevated short body with two dorsal fins and the anal
fin without spines.
The genus Chanda has a deep,compressed short body and the anal fin with three species,is represented
by 4 species in India of which Chanda nama and C.ranga are found in Assam.
Family :Nandidae (Mud perch)

The fishes of this family have compressed, elevated oblong body, head covered with scales and a single
dorsal fin.
The genus Badis having compressed moderately elongate body,the head compressed and large and a
single dorsal fin,is represented in India by species,Badis babis and B.dario and both of them are found in Assam.
The genus Nandus has a compressed oblong body and a large compressed head is represented by one
species the Nandus nandus from Assam.
GENERAL 77
The genus Preistolepis having compressed short oblong body and compressed short head is represented
in India by two species, the prestolepis marginata was known to occur in Assam.
Family :Gobiidae
The fishes of this family have oblong to very elongate body,sea inhabitors but many species found
visiting fresh water rivers.
The genus Glossogobius having anteriorly cylindrical,compressed elongate body with oblong united
pelvic fins is represented by one fresh water species the Glossogobius giuris which is known to occur in Assam.
Family :Anabantidae (Climbing pers)

The fishes of this family have compressed moderately elongate body and a single dorsal spinous fin,the
body and the head is covered with etenoid scales.
The genus Anabus having compressed oblong body and spinous dorsal fin,is represented by two species
in India. Of them the Anabus testudineus is very commonly known from Assam.
Family :Belontidae
The fishes of this family have short compressed body,a single dorsal fin with spine and rays and an anal
fin with spines.
The genus Colisa has an elevated compressed body,the head moderate and compressed,is represented in
India by three species, Colisa fasciata, C.lalius and Colisa sota. All these three species are found in Assam along
the Brahmaputra drainage system.
Family :Mastacembelidae (spinny eel)

The fishes of this family have eel-like compressed elongate body,fleshy long snout accommodating
concave prolongation of the upper jaw,the nostrils tubular and placed anteriorly on the sensitive snout,the pelvic
fin and girdle absent.
The genus Macrognathus having eel-like compressed elongate body,snout long and fleshy, the caudal fin
distinctly separated from dorsal and anal fin, scales present, is represented by one species,the macrognathus
aculeatus from Assam.
The genus Mastacembelus having eel-like compressed elongate body, conical long snout without
transversely strained bony plates on the under surface and scale present,is represented by three species in India.
All these three species, Mastachembelus armatus, M.pancalus and M.guentheri occur in Assam.
Family :Polliaiidae (Hill-stream eel)

The fishes of this family have subcylindrical elongate body,the upper jaw possesses a single stony large
bone bearing teeth and the dorsal and anal fins long and without spine,the pelvic fin and the girdle absent.
The genus Pillala having eel-like subcylindrical small body,rounded abdomen,the snout with indistinct
fleshy rostral appendage bearing the anterior tubular nostrils and no spine anywhere on the body, scales absent,
is represented by only one species,the Pillala nidica from Assam and adjoining states.
The genus Garo having eel-like naked body,the dorsal and anal fins confluent with the caudal fin,no spines on
the body,scales absent,is represented by a single species,the Garo khjuriai from Assam and adjoining Garo hills.
Family :Tetraodontidae (Puffers)

The fishes of this family are more or less short bodied. The skin covering is modified into small or large
spines or lemina in the from of a beak with a cutting edge and covered with a layer of ivory like substances.
There is a single dorsal and anal fins without spines, the pectoral fin present but the pelvic fin absent.
The genus Tetraodon having a more or less short body with a broad back compressed into ridges, jaws
with median sutures, pelvic fin absent, is represented by only one species,the Tetraoden cutentia from
Assam,and adjoining states.
The Game fishes of Assam :

Before the birth of Ichthyology,fishes were known by their local names only. Therefore,there was some
confusion in regard to Game Fishes of India upto the third part of the present century. But Thomas (1887,1897),
Lacey (1905), Dhu (1923)Phayre (1949),etc., defined game fishes as the fishes of Angling and Sports. The
Angling and Sports fishes of Assam are mainly :
1.The Tor Mahseer –Tor tor :

It is a stoutly built fish with a deep body,head is shorter than the body depth. The colour of the body is
green and gold,the belly is grey and the lateral sides are pinkish. Light orange,yellow and light blue patches are
there in the head. It is having moderately orange and pinkish fin. But sometimes they are uniformly dark in
colour. They are omnivorous and breed during August and September of the year.
2.The Putior Mahseer –Tor Putiora :

It is a Grey – hound and Thick lipped Masheer commonly called Golden Masheer. The body is
somewhat compressed and streamlined with both the profiles greatly arched. The length of the head is greater
than the depth of the body.The colour of the fish varies with the nature and background of the waterbody it
inhabits. It is herbivorous usually. It breeds three times in a year during (i)January-February (ii)May-June and
(iii)July-September.
3.The Mosal Masheer – Tor mosal :

It is closely allied to Tor Mahseer except the length of the head is equal to or shorter than the depth of
the body. There are 4 barbels. The body is anteriorly olivaceous yellow and posteriorly amber colour,the sides
are yellowish and the belly is silvery. It is commonly known as copper Mahseer. The young is herbivorous and
the adult feeds on carbs,molluses,etc.,being a bottom feeder.
4.The Jungha -Tor progemus :

The body is greyish above the lateral line but the belly is silvery. The base of the scales possesses dark
blotches. The head is equal to the depth of the body and the eyes lie in the anterior half of the head. In general
look,it is similar to Tor mosal except the fan shaped structure behind the upper lip. Endemic to Assam.
GENERAL 79
5.The Bokar- Acrossocheilus Hexagonolepis:
The Bokar of Assam possesses large scales and therefore, it should have been considered a mahseer.
However, It only differs in the interrupted post – labial groove and the red eyes. It is a graceful fish, the ground
colour of the body is olive on back, yellow brown and blue on the laterals and the belly is silver in colour. There
are four barbels.
6.The Indian Trout- Raimas bola:

This fish is not a true trout but it has the appearance of a trout having streamlined body and body spots.
The head is pointed, body is compressed and the scales are small. The back is greenish grey and the ventrum is
silvery separated by a longitudinal golden stripe. It weighs below 1 kg but get hooked nicely with fly jump out of
water. It is restricted to the hilly parts of Assam.
7.The Alwan-- Schizothorax richardsonii:

It is a streamlined fish, scales are small, but slightly larger along the anal aperture. There is no adipose
fin, the chin bears a sucker. The body is greyish silvery above and light silvery below with many black spots.
8.The Dinnawah- Schizothoraichthys progas:

It occurs in the same habitats as Alwan but differs tus from the S. richardsonii in the absence of ventro
cephalic hard papillated plate.
It is a deep bodied fish, uniformly silvery in colour, rarely dark spots may occur but the tip of the fins are
usually black.
9.The Rohu (Labeo rohita):

It is a graceful fish with thick and fringed lips, the snout is depressed, mouth ventral, 4 barbels, the
dorsal fin is long,15-16 rays. The back is brownish and the sides are silvery, abdomen is more silvery but fins are
dark.
It is a valuable food fish of India, vegetable feeder, attains a length nearly upto a metre. It can be stocked
in tanks, usually found in slow moving water, pools, rivers and is one of the commonest major carps of India.
It is prevalent in North East, North and central Indian natural water, although introduced nearly in all
parts of India as pond or flood culture fish.
10.The kalbose (Labeo Calbasu):

It is a blackish green fish becoming lighter below, fins are black, upper tip of the caudal fin usually
tipped with white, the lips are fringed, horney covering inside each jaw,snout bears pores, 4 barbels.
They can be stocked in ponds and flood culture in North East Indian natural water. They are prevalent
more or less throughout India.
11.The Katla (catla catla)

The back of this fish is greyish, silvery on the sides and abdomen, fins are dark coloured, scales have
grey silvery tinge.The dorsal profile is more curved than the ventral,
mouth wide, lower jaw prominent, upper lip absent,pores are sometimes present on the snout.
It is an important,more productive food fish which attains up to 1.83 metres in length and can be easily
employed in pond and flood culture in Assam and North East, but found throughout India.
12. The Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala)
The dorsal profile is slightly more curved than the ventral,upper lip is entire,dorsal fin long,two sides
and belly silvery,pectoral,ventral and anal fins are orange, ujheyes are golden.
It grows upto 91 cm in length,excellent for stocking in tanks and flood culture in Assam,herbivorous,
breeds in running water, found throughout India.
13. The White Carp (Cirrhinus cirrhosa)
The body is silvery, scales having a reddish centre, abdomen dull yellowish, fins are Grey, dorsal profile
is more concave than ventral, 4 barbels, small tubercles on the snout.
It grows up to 46 cm in length, remains mostly in the lower section of water,can be stocked in tanks in
Assam.
14.The Chaguni (Chagunius Chagunio)
The body is uniformly silvery with dispersed pink tinge, fins are reddish with lighter edge, dorsal fin
edged black, the head is compressed with flat sides, overhanging snout is divided into central and lateral
lobes,the snout and seeks in males are with tubercles, fewer in female, dorsal spine serrated, scales are small, 4
barbels.
It grows up to 46 cms in length,found throughout India except peninsular region.
The Cat-fishes
The next largest group is the catfishes with scalless body, strong teeth in the jaws,snout with 1-4 pairs of
barbels,the dorsal and pectoral fins bear strong spine.
15.The Boali(Wallago attu)
The dorsal side of the body olive with golden, lower part of the body and slides lighter ,anal and caudal
fins are somewhat blackish, sides often cream coloured. The head is large,snout depressed,mouth wide,jaws with
conical teeth, posterior body laterally compressed, dorsal fin very small,anal fin long.
It is a powerful fish of large size, omnivorous, stays near the bottom of the water,
GENERAL 81
it grows upto 180 cms in length and 45 kg in weight,undesirable in big reservoir, natural in flood prone beels in
Assam, found throughout India.
16. Seenghari or Tengra (Mystus Seenhala)

The back is brownish, sides and belly are silvery, a black spot at the base of the posterior end of the
adipose fin, snout is flat and wide,a bony inter neutral shields between the basal bone of the dorsal fin, median
groove on head is short, maxillary barbels extend upto the end of dorsal fin. Distributed throughout India in
riverine habitats.
17. Aar (mystus aor)

Allied to Seenghari but differ in the wider mouth and longer maxillary barbels,median groove on head is
long,dark bluish on the back, gradually becoming whitish on the sides and belly,fins yellowish,dorsal and caudal
stained black,tip of adipose fin bears a dark spot. It attains 1.8 metres in length,freshwater dweller,restricted
mostly to rivers and riverine flood areas in Assam.
18. Khagga (Rita rita)

The back is greenish grey, sides and abdomen silvery, head is granulated, pectoral process is massive and
stout, anterior and posterior nasal opening are away from each other,6 barbels. It is also found in north India.
19. Pungus (Pangasius pangasius)

The body and the head dusky green above and white below with a purple gloss on the sides,sides of the
head golden yellow, fins are whitish. Body laterally compressed,head somewhat depressed,eyes are on the lower
anterior of the head, nostrils wide apart, mouth ventral,there are 4 barbels.
It feeds on decaying matter,resides mostly in the lower reach of river,grows upto 1.5 metres in length and
commonly known as fresh water shark, nocturnal in habit,found throughout India.
20.Silond (Silonia silodia )
Elongated and compressed body, eyes lateral,nostrils wide apart,mouth is slightly ascending,back dusky
green,sides silvery,dorsal and caudal fins greenish,others white, opercule orange to yellow, irish orange,dorsal
fin much in advance than ventral,2 maxillary barbels.
It is carnivorous,feeds on prawns,crabs and small fishes,remains in strong streams and grows upto a
metre in length,found in Brahmaputra and Gangetic plains.
21.Vacha (Eutropitchthys vacha)
Body elongated and compressed, mouth cleft wide slightly oblique, dorsal fin lies opposite to
ventral,body silvery with black greyish with tint of cobalt blue, patches of vermilion on jaw,orbital margin,gills
cover pectoral fin and ventral sides of the body,fins are greyish, 8 barbels.
It is carnivorous on small fishes and insects mostly surface feeder, destructive to pond fisheries,length
about 35 cms, prevalent mostly in the North east, and Eastern
states of India.
22. Garna Bacha ( Chupisoma garna )
Body elongated and compressed, herring like, part of the abdomen keeled, mouth sub-terminal,nostrils
are posterior and wide, back is green, sides and belly silvery, fins are translucent,dorsal and pectoral fins dotted
with black,head and shoulder bear golden gloss.
It is a carnivorous bottom feeder and feeds on crustaceans, small fishes and insects, grows upto a metre
in length, weighing upto 12.2 kgs. It occurs in Brahmaputra,Ganga etc.
23. Goonch (Bagarius bagarius )
The head and anterior body part depressed, head is bony and rough on upperside, tail is narrow and whip
like mouth behind the snout,ventral,dorsal and pectoral fins with strong spines,caudal fin deeply forked, both the
part producing filamentous processes, body colour yellowish green or to its habitat background, the yellowish
sides sometimes with patches of pink, black spots are irregularly scattered on the body, fins and there are two
irregular black markings behind the dorsal adipose fin.
It is predaceous in habit and known as fresh water shark,grows upto 2 metres in length and weighs up to
135 kgs,hence is the largest fresh water fish of India.
It is also known as living fossils as it has been existing for the last 5 million years (Tertiary period)
without evolution and fossils of this fish have been recorded from Tertiary deposits of Siwalik rocks in India.
24.Brown Trout
The body is brownish,dark spots along the upper part not below lateral line,the dorsal fin above the
pelvic and adipose fin above the anal fin . In India, it is found in higher reaches and River Brahmaputra, Beas
and Jhelum.
25.Murral (Channa marulins)
The colour of the fish differs in different environment, normally the body is greyish green, lighter
below,somewhat snake like,covered with scales sometimes with red, dorsal and anal fins are long, amphibious,
as it can stay outside water for quite a long time. Youngs are brilliant orange with lateral bands and adults have
5-6 cloudy bands below the lateral line, a large black ocellus occurs at the upper base of the caudal fin.
It grows up to 1.2 metres in length and found throughout India.

GENERAL 83
Conservation of fishes
A few few words added on the conservation of fishes particularly the game fishes are found to be
essential as in recent years the quality and quantity of fish fauna of the inland water of Assam and adjoining
areas have shown a sudden annihilation.
The major causes are :
1.Pollution of water by sewerage disposal and chemical wasters to running and standing water bodies.
2. The absence of fish ladders due to construction of embankments and dams.
3. Introduction of exotic fast breeder like tilapia in fresh water carp habitats.
4. Over-fishing and blasting of big water bodies by unlawful killers and uses of unapproved fish gears for
fishing reduced tremendously the fish population of Assam water bodies in particular.
Rodents (Rats and Squirrels).
Rodents,specially the rats,mouse,etc. are known from the dawn of human civilisation. Not only in the
multiplicity but also in the enormous, swarms of individuals, the group stands unique among mammals. They are
cosmopolitan in their distribution and have adapted themselves to all sorts of ecological
habitats,arboreal,terrestrial,subterranean to aquatic. They are equally at residential home, godown, fields,
bamboo grooves, at the snowy height of Himalaya as well as in the hot sandy deserts.
Rodents create immense problem in the field of agriculture,horticulture and other material possessions .
They are also responsible for the spread of some dreadful diseases like plague, murine, typhus, etc.They are also
known to be the source of a number of Zoonotic diseases such as leptospiral jaundice, salmonellosis ,rat-bite
fever,etc.
Taxonomy :The rodents in India are represented by seven families,39 genera and 99 species,out of
which the status of 9 from Andaman and Nicobar Island is not yet very clear. However, all the families are not
discussed here,as many of them do not occur in the North Eastern India States and Assam in particular. Therefore
,here only those families that occur in North eastern States including Assam,have been included.
Family Sciuridae
1.Petaurista candidulus. Wronghtoni's flying Squirrel
2.Belomys pearsoni.Hairy flying squirrel
3.Petaurista petaurista.Giant flying Squirrel
4.Hylopetes alboniger.Pasty coloured flying squirrel.
5.Tauniops macelellandi.Himalayan Squirrel.
6.Calloseiurus pygerythrus.Geoffroy Squirrel.
7.Dremomys lobriah.Orange belly Squirrel.
8.Dremomys pernyi.Long nosed Squirrel.
9.Rotufa bicolor.Malayan Squirrel.
Family Rhizomydae :
10.Connomys badius.Bamboo rat.
11.Rhizomys pruinosus.Hoary bamboo rat.
Family Hystricidae :
12.Arherurus macrourus.Asiatic porcupine
13.Hystrix indica.Crested Porcupine
14.Hystric Hodgson.Himalayan Porcupine.
Family Cricetidae :
15.Eothenomys melanogaster.david's vole.
16.Pitymys sikimensis.Sikkim vole.
17.Apodemus sylvaticus.Common field mouse.
18.Micromys minutus.Harvest mouse.
19.Chiropodomys gliroides.Tree mouse.
20.Vandeleuria obracea.Indian Tre mouse.
21.Rattus rattus.Mouse Rat.
22. Rattus uitidus.Himalayan Rat.
23. Rattus bowersi.Bower's Rat.
24.Raflus manipulus.Manipur Rat.
25. Rattus niviventer.White belly Rat.
26. Rattus fulvescens.Chestnut Rat.
27. Rattus eremoriventer.Dark tailed Rat.
28 Rattus edwardsi.Edward's Rat.
29. Rattus sabanus.Noisy Rat.
30.Dacnomys millardi.Giant Rat.
31.Hadromys humei.Hume's Rat.
32.Golunda ellioti.Bush Rat.
33.Bondicota bengalensis.Bandicoot Rat.
34. Bondicota indica.Large Bandicoot Rat.
35.Mus musculus.House mouse.
36.Mus dunni.Field mouse
37.Mus booduga.Indian field mouse.
38.Mus cerbvicolor.Fawn mouse.
39.Mus pahari.Sikkim mouse.
GENERAL 85
(g) Climate, Rainfall and Temperature :
Assam at present consists of two hill districts and twenty one plain districts. The climate of the hills is
generally salubrious while that of the plains is comparatively warm in summer but cool in winter.
Accordingly,the climate of Assam is characterised by alternate cool and warm periods with a highly
humidity,Especially from May to November. Between March and May at the time when precipitation in
Northern India is at the minimum, Assam gets some amount of rainfall from the Norwesters which keep the
temperature low in the season of spring. In the plains of Assam, the maximum temperature does not go beyond
90oF.or 32oC and in winter the plains of Assam have a minimum temperature of about 8oC or about 47oF.The
climate of the plains and the sub-montane region becomes unpleasant,especially in the summer season. It
happens to be so because of the extreme humidity which comes with the monsoon. In the plains of
Assam,including the district of Cachar the temperatures in summer may be only about 32oC. But the humidity
may be so high that one will perspire and feel very uneasy, especially during the period between two bouts of
rainfall.
From the climatic point of view the year in Assam can broadly be divided in two, the cold season and the
rainy season. However,there are two other short seasons namely spring and autumn representing the transition
between cold and rainy seasons and that between rainy and cold seasons respectively.
From the middle of November to the middle of February the cold season prevails with the sky becoming
clear and temperature going down below 15oC. Fogs also appear during these months, especially in the morning
and evening but they disappear during the daytime. From March temperature begins to rise,dust,storms begin ti
blow in western Assam and occasional Northwesters visit with thunderstroms. The showers of this period
prevent the temperatures from rising and they settle down the unwanted dusts which appear in the air. Besides,
they also help to make the vegetation green after the dry winter. After the short spring the south west monsoon
bursts in the third week of June and rains continue to pour with short spells of drought. The atmosphere there
becomes sultry and temperature stands at 30oC to 35o C. Towards late September,the rains peter out and
temperature also decreases and the short autumn sets in,while the sky begins to become clear mists appear in the
horizon. With the farther fall of temperature, winter sets in from late November.
There is a slight variation of climate from region to region within the State. For instance, the climate of
the region covering Kamrup, Nalbari and Barpeta in west-central Assam is characterised by plentiful rains and
foggy winter. The cold season in this region is from December to February and this is followed by the sand-
storms and thunderstorms from March to May. The rainy season,
as in rest of Assam begins in late June and continues upto late September. October and November constitute the
post-monsoon period. In western Assam comprising the districts of Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar and
Dhubri,the climate is intermediate between that of the North Bengal Plains and the west-central Assam Valley. In
this region,the day temperatures in April and May are nearly the same as in the monsoon months. The climate of
the Barak Valley districts is characterised by abundant rainfall, moderate temperatures and high humidity. The
year may be divided into four seasons and the cold season is identical with Goalpara and Kamrup. The climate of
the east central Assam comprising Darrang, Sonitpur, Marigaon and Nagaon is characterised by the absence of a
dry hot summer season,the highest temperature being experienced during the period of south west monsoon
along with abundant rains and a humid atmosphere throughout the year. The climate of the eastern Assam
districts (Golaghat, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Tinsukia ,Dibrugarh, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur)is somewhat identical to
Darrang and Nagaon with temperature remaining slightly lower than in the latter.
Humidity : In most of the plain districts of Assam the air is highly humid throughout the year. In Kamrup
district,during the months of January to April relative humidities are comparatively less being only 50 to
60%.The same condition holds good in case of Goalpara district where humidities are less,especially in the
afternoon,when they are between 50 to 65 per cent. During February and March in the district of Cachar,the air
is comparatively less humid,the afternoon humidities being less than 60 per cent. In Darrang too, the air is highly
humid throughout the year,except during the period February to April when the relative humidity is
comparatively less,particularly in the afternoon(less than 70 per cent).But in the Lakhimpur and Dhemaji
districts and in Majuli sub-division of Jorhat district,the air is very humid throughout the year,the relative
humidity being usually over 70 %.In Nagaon district, during the period February to April relative humidity is
comparatively low,especially in the afternoon when it stands between 55% to 65%.In Golaghat, Jorhat and
Sibsagar too, the atmosphere is highly humid throughout the year. The two hills districts of Assam,namely Karbi
Anglong and North Cachar Hills, have also almost similar humidity with the rest of Assam particularly so during
the period of south west monsoon season when the relative humidities are above 80%.The period from February
to April is comparatively drier here with the relative humidities are in the afternoon between 50 to 60 per cent.
Rainfall-Assam receives typical monsoon rains. The south-west monsoon rains starts from the third
week of June and they continue up to the middle of September. The State receives during this period about 180
cm of rainfall on the average. This constitutes about 80% of the average rainfall of the State while
GENERAL 87
the remaining 20% come in the form of occasional rains in January (as a result of the extension of the westerlies
that come to the north-western India causing rainfall in Panjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh and snowfall
in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and the Himalayan region and in March-April (nor'westers or
Bordoichila).There is however . religion variation in the rainfall pattern. It is found that as the Maghalaya
.Plateau stands on the way of the main branch of the rain -bearing south-west monsoon winds .the southern
portion of the Brahmaputra Plains skirting the Plateau fall in the rainshadow zone . Hence the south-eastern part
of Kamrup district from Guwahati eastward. Southern part of Nagaon district .northern part of Hamren sub-
division and the eastern foothills of Karbi -Rengma hills receive less rainfall than the other parts of the
Brahmaputra Plains. In fact, the Lanka-Lumding receives hardly 100 cm of average annual rainfall. Similarly,
the Diphu-Nambar region also receives a small quantity of rain. In other parts of the Bhrahmaputra Plains,
rainfall increases as one goes to the east or north or west. The heaviest rainfall exceeding 200 cm is received in
Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts and along the Himalayan foothill region. The average
annual rainfall is around 200cm all over the middle part of the Brahmaputra Valley from the east to the west.
While the western part Of Karbi Anglong receives 200cm of average annual rainfall. North Cachar Hills and the
Barak plains receive more than 200cm.
The tables below show the monthly data of rainfall, temperature and relative humidity of different
stations of Assam.
Rainfall (in Milimetre)in 1967
Station Janua Feb March April May June July August Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Annual
ry Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1.Goalpara 21 0 172 169 179 426 390 245 500 50 9 0 2161
2.Dhubri 2 0 100 89 329 476 407 261 244 82 2 0 1992
3.Guwahati
A.P 7 14 114 154 246 124 211 238 296 20 36 1 1461
4.Rangia 4 0 90 73 426 373 407 222 136 30 17 0 1773
5.Tangla 0 0 54 78 388 373 314 141 113 73 0 83 1567
6.Majbat 1 22 87 53 264 304 506 142 145 100 0 0 1624
7.Tezpur 4 15 100 48 269 408 498 69 146 50 5 8 1615
8.Gohpur 3 71 74 84 332 621 453 286 437 107 13 5 2486
9.Chaparm ukh4 0 73 127 226 184 391 216 141 45 16 12 1435
10.Lumding 13 10 80 86 176 82 195 159 294 122 6 9 1282
11.Dibrugarh
A.P 26 38 121 75 213 410 360 268 298 46 22 4 1881
12.Digboi 12 130 144 60 230 210 465 384 348 154 - - 2137
13.North
Lakhippur 18 65 149 38 264 582 525 374 485 96 8 0 2604
14.Silchar 40 16 144 219 372 523 620 329 363 187 8 0 2838
15.Haflong 53 143 117 230 260 352 270 192 241 165 6 0 2029
10.Lumding 13 10 80 86 176 82 195 159 294 122 6 9 1282
11.Dibrugarh
A.P 26 38 121 75 213 410 360 268 298 46 22 4 1881
12.Digboi 12 130 144 60 230 210 465 384 348 154 - - 2137
13.North
Lakhippur 18 65 149 38 264 582 525 374 485 96 8 0 2604
14.Silchar 40 16 144 219 372 523 620 329 363 187 8 0 2838
15.Haflong 53 143 117 230 260 352 270 192 241 165 6 0 2029
Source-Meteorological Centre,Calcutta.
A.P.-Air Port
GENERAL 89
Rainfall (in Millimetre) in 1971
ry Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1.Goalpara 4- - - 313 - - - - - - - 317
2.Dhubri 6 0 27 139 444 514 332 219 318 172 32 0 2203
3.Guw ahati
A.P 4 1 67 171 186 331 331 302 112 78 82 0 1665
4.Rangia - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5.Tangla 2 7 45 139 94 236 181 263 239 150 55 22 1433
6.Majbat 0 13 5 67 96 21 98 39 28 21 6 1 395
7.Tezpur 7 19 28 84 142 259 434 228 222 208 43 11 1685
8.Gohpur 322 40 81 98 276 452 348 528 - - - - 2145
9.Chaparmukh - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10.Lumding - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11.Dibrugarh
A.P 49 46 27 202 250 392 571 470 301 346 69 0 2723
12.Digboi 47 45 121 74 186 344 518 518 176 274 109 30 2442
13.North
Lakhimpur 57 85 40 98 260 392 724 728 379 376 0 0 3139
14.Silchar
A.P 16 31 28 294 331 480 407 513 293 254 99 1 2737
15.Haf long - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Source – Meteorological Centre,Calcutta.

Rainfall(in Millimetre)in 1974
ry Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1.Goalpara 0 0 29 127 182 358 359 359 248 41 14 0 1762
2.Dhubri 0 0 21 331 65 439 569 323 231 64 30 0 1983
3.Guw ahati 28 0 23 127 208 411 615 210 193 141 6 0 1962
A .P
4.Rangia 9 0 51 36 136 146 207 180 114 169 6 2 1056
5.Tangla 2 0 72 13 215 207 1170 297 148 34 0 0 2158
6.Majbat 3 11 36 84 52 180 230 149 316 44 0 1 1106
7.Tezpur 32 0 37 145 106 568 399 390 157 160 2 0 1893
8.Gohpur N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A.
9.Chaparmukh 0 0 13 178 20 209 401 369 277 163 36 0 1665
10.Lumding 0 0 51 85 106 191 165 85 103 149 5 0 939
11.Dibrugarh 51 1 70 268 176 344 798 366 407 120 16 5 2822
A.P
12.Digboi 0 5 46 128 _ 33 308 23 113 6 0 6 668
13.North
Lakhippur 41 58 34 95 133 448 351 257 269 165 12 4 1867
14.Silchar
A .P 0 15 112 200 78 638 681 465 347 2536
15.Haf long 0 0 20 3 1 58 88 146 92 39 37 0 484
Source- Meteorological centre,Guwahati

N.A.-Not Available
GENERAL 91
ry Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1.Goalpara N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A. N.A. N.A . N.A.
2.Dhubri 0 5 52 432 368 484 608 664 209 491 36 N.A . 3849
3.Guw ahati
A .P 13 4 64 415 248 465 650 271 93 238 45 13 2519
4.Rangia N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A. N.A. N.A . *1860
5.Tangla 28 13 97 235 394 458 424 308 131 57 19 19 2183
6.Majbat 9 0 35 352 428 320 427 597 202 128 16 15 2529
7.Tezpur 14 70 54 313 411 242 373 449 62 114 28 11 2141
8.Gohpur N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A. N.A. N.A . *2160
9.Chaparmukh 21 6 14 596 452 622 542 677 32 236 148 80 3426
10.Lumding 0 20 39 97 194 276 482 134 79 112 14 20 1467
11.Dibrugarh
A.P 18 68 102 392 313 485 589 710 210 199 49 54 3189
12.Digboi 142 88 47 140 270 119 213 172 143 89 N.A. N.A . 1423
13.North
Lakhimpur 39 25 74 358 520 675 614 445 251 157 42 51 3251
14.Silchar 15 49 83 698 707 418 463 477 148 240 132 25 3455
A .P
15.Haf long N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A. N.A. N.A . *2540
Source-Meteorological Centre,Guwahati.* Annual normal rainfall

N.A.-Not Available
A.P.-Air Port
Rainfall(in milimetre)in 1980
ry Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1.Goalpara N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A . N.A. N.A. N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A. N.A .
2.Dhubri 0 0 0 3 249 244 141 106 42 62 0 49 896
3.Guw ahati
A .P 0 16 64 56 191 443 315 327 69 76 0 0 1557
4.Rangia 0 23 27 134 120 237 107 92 121 83 0 14 958
5.Tangla 16 13 9 75 255 174 162 109 69 27 0 0 909
6.Majbat 0 8 73 123 88 207 256 151 52 253 0 11 1222
7.Tezpur 4 16 77 110 198 310 285 370 197 78 0 0 1645
8.Gohpur 0 1 1 19 7 17 39 30 33 7 0 0 153
9.Chaparmukh 0 0 0 48 43 118 204 66 42 54 0 0 575
10.Lumding 0 1 11 15 93 139 169 8 39 90 16 10 591
11.Dibrugarh
A.P 8 54 128 198 182 235 433 506 243 150 0 9 2146
12.Digboi N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A . N.A. N.A. N.A . N.A . N.A . N.A. N.A .
13.North
Lakhippur 49 44 130 126 295 275 632 562 352 66 0 0 2531
14.Silchar
A .P 0 63 135 194 200 405 160 144 322 149 17 0 1789
15.Haf long 22 56 52 77 59 51 152 59 272 142 0 0 942
Source: Meteorological Centre,Calcutta,

N.A-Not Available
GENERAL 93
ry Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1.Goalpara N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. 377
2.Dhubri N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. 190 87 N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. 277
3.Guw ahati
A .P tr 35 45 130 142 206 492 119 264 9 4 23 1469
4.Rangia 0 0 50 258 172 106 64(1) 28(1) N.R. N.R. N.R. 0 678
5.Tangla 0 4 0 19 N.R. 330 471 110 N.R. 34 0 26 994
6.Majbat 0 2 34 13 2 174 18(1) 13(1) 62 3 52 60 373
7.Tezpur 0 9 89 215 225 326 487 471 288 15 tr 12 2137
8.Gohpur N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R.
9.Chaparmukh 0 0 0 42 N.R. 152 N.R. 36(1) 66(1) N.R. 0 42 338
10.Lumding 0 10 17 135 N.R. 98 N.R. 28(1) N.R. N.R. 0 0 288
11.Dibrugarh
A.P 18 24 163 340 150 326 800 352 69 82 14 15 2353
12.Digboi N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R.
13.North
Lakhippur 21 62 139 302 43 570 1054 528 346 109 6 1 3481
14.Silchar 2 86 437 427 88 281 168()1 375 74(1) 56 41 0 2035
15.Haf long N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R. N.R.
NB: not reported

(1)-Total of less than 10 days reports
00-Nil
tr-rainfall 0.1 to 0.4 mm
Source:-Directorate of Economics & Statistics,Assam;Statistical Hand Book,Assam,1987.
Monthly Rainfall(in Millimetre)in 1990
ry Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1.Chaparmukh 4.2 23.4 161.6 392 145.8 511.6 384.2 241.4 420.2 252.5 0 0 2536.9
2.Rupsi 0 16 39.4 253.3 356.1 878.7 424.5 538.8 477.5 294.6 0 0 3278.8
3.Dibrugarh 13.5 78.4 59.3 255.9 216.9 703.4 641.9 343.5 648 93.3 1.7 15.3 3071.1
4.Guw ahati 1.2 21.2 87 342.3 106.5 193 565.5 66.8 203.7 165.1 0 0.3 1752.9
5.Lumding 0 31.6 68.3 157.2 207.3 285.7 115.2 201.2 185.4 N.A . 2.8 1.3 1256
6.Majbat 11.2 49 9.7 105.8 263.1 330.1 146 84 68.5 103.7 0 0 1171.1
7.North
Lakhimpur 57.1 85 75.9 256.2 169.8 832.2 908.4 503.8 585.5 196.3 0 8.2 3678.4
8.Silchar 10.5 39.2 146.9 570.7 282 517.8 432.8 404.2 483.4 298 47.4 32.8 3245.7
9.Tezpur 17.7 37.5 73.8 382.7 250 275.2 446.8 159.9 292.1 227.8 0 0.11 2114.6
Source-Statistical Hand Book,Assam,1991,p-28-31

GENERAL 95
Monthly Rainfall(in Millimetre)in 1992
ry Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1.Chaparmukh 8.1 3.2 8 0 263.1 491.7 244.7 230.4 555.4 54.5 0 0
2.Rupsi 6.3 1.1 4 163.6 458 484.9 474.1 628.8 45.6 0 0 0
3.Dibrugarh 36.2 140.9 151.5 264.6 231.5 429.4 475.1 223.7 443.4 134.2 8.9 3.8
4.Guw ahati 0 33.1 19.3 103.5 271.4 404.6 357.1 373.4 185.9 55.3 7.2 16.5
5.Lumding 2.6 16 3.5 28.4 103 93.8 167 188.2 177.1 75 47.8 28
6.Majbat 0 49.4 32.4 102.7 251.2 417.4 487.4 180.4 205.2 44.8 6 9
7.North
Lakhimpur 53.4 122.8 68.1 132.2 24.92 430.8 516.8 567.8 144.8 106.6 7 3.2
8.Silchar 11.4 53.8 150 196.6 955.9 512.1 494 371.1 463.7 341.1 19.4 7.8
9.Tezpur 9.9 25.8 26 98.5 243.3 394.9 354.7 163.8 172.6 55.7 5.1 23.8
Source-Statistical Hand Book,Assam,1993,p-50-53.

Relative Humidity (Monthwise),1974
Station Janu Feb March April May June July August Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
ary
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1.Goalpara 91 77 70 83 85 88 93 92 89 88 77 94
2.Dhubri 91 75 73 86 87 88 94 90 90 89 80 91
3.Guw ahati
A .P 90 74 69 79 84 85 88 84 84 85 86 87
4.Rangia 85 66 63 78 77 82 86 84 84 86 74 79
5.Tangla 87 76 75 71 88 92 92 85 88 81 74 85
6.Majbat 78 85 88 87 68 95 91 90 86 87 83 88
7.Tezpur 87 76 74 79 83 87 93 89 90 87 85 88
8.Gohpur 93 88 92 94 93 95 95 - - - - 91
9.Chaparmukh 87 88 70 78 82 90 87 85 82 91 97 83
10.Lumding 83 78 71 73 81 75 86 81 80 80 90 87
11.Dibrugarh
A.P 87 75 68 82 79 86 94 85 90 90 75 84
12.Digboi 91 79 79 83 90 77 80 88 84 87 89 89
13.North
Lakhippur 83 75 70 83 79 75 97 87 89 84 72 80
14.SilcharA.P 84 76 76 77 74 90 92 84 89 - - 80
15.Haf long 78 68 74 90 92 98 97 88 89 89 89 84
Source:Meteorological Centre,Guwahati.
GENERAL 97
Station Januar Feb March April May June July August Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec
y .
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1.Dhubri 90 81 78 82 83 85 91 91 91 84 79 85
2.Guw ahati 89 77 69 78 80 78 88 83 85 77 82 86
3.Majbat 84 81 73 69 75 76 86 83 84 76 67 75
4.Tezpur 84 80 72 74 78 82 89 88 86 80 72 86
5.Chaparmukh 90 79 78 75 85 76 85 85 84 83 85 83
6.Lumding 91 90 87 87 84 89 89 82 92 90 92 88
7.Sibsagar 91 86 66 - 73 80 95 95 95 88 - 73
8.Dibrugarh 84 86 79 77 81 82 90 87 86 82 69 80
9.North
Lakhimpur 81 82 79 78 79 87 91 87 81 84 73 81
10.Silchar 80 79 74 78 85 83 84 88 83 74 70 76
11.Haflong 88 81 83 95 87 - - - - - - -
Source: Statistical Hand Book,Assam,1982,p-54-5.

Station Janua Feb March April May June July August Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
ry
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1.Chaparmukh 79.65 75.24 79.9 78.97 81.74 82.97 83.32 84.03 82.93 83.42 76.63 74.1
2.Rupsi 85.23 82.17 62 65.33 80.8 84.63 87.77 84.1 82.66 85.43 75.73 80.81
3.Dibrugarh82.58 82.34 79.1 79.07 79.65 84.3 86.35 85.61 85.67 79.16 69.03 74.32
4.Guw ahati87.64 80.96 70.03 65.77 80.22 83.3 86.61 83.06 81.9 82.84 84.1 87.55
5.Lumding 92.16 88.45 88.74 92.8 94.45 94.1 92.74 94.48 95.43 93.94 94.07 93.42
6.Majbat 89.42 82.89 74.65 71.83 80.55 84.13 92.29 84.8 82.67 80.16 75.93 80.94
7.North
Lakhimpur 80.84 84 80.97 78.06 78.61 85 88.87 86.06 83.47 75.19 69.9 73.03
8.Silchar 87.74 83.66 80.74 79.4 81.58 82.07 83.94 83.45 84.3 80.74 77.87 77.26
9.Tezpur 85.87 78.76 66.74 73.3 80.06 87.43 87.48 87.45 86.76 81.61 79.27 81.51
Source-Statistical Hand Book,Assam,1993,p-46-7.
GENERAL 99
Monthly Average Maximum and Minimum Temperature(in Centigrade)in Assam,1974

Stations Jan Feb March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini
1.Goalpara 22.9 4.0 27.0 _ 31.0 11.2 29.8 14.4 32.5 17.2 31.6 17.9 29.3 17.6 31.3 16.2 30.6 16.2 32.4 15.6 28.8 13.7 29.5 7.0
2.Dhubri 22.2 12.5 26.4 13.3 30.6 17.3 296 21.2 32.3 25.3 31.3 24.6 29.5 24.9 30.9 25.7 28.8 24.5 29.5 24.5 27.3 19.4 22.1 13.0
3.Guwahati
A.P. 22.3 10.0 34.3 10.4 29.5 15.1 29.9 19.9 30.3 22.6 31.6 24.5 30.3 24.9 31.7 25.6 30.6 23.9 30.6 23.0 28.6 18.3 23.6 10.7
4.Rangia 21.1 9.5 23.7 11.7 27.5 14.7 28.4 19.3 31.0 22.2 31.9 23.6 30.3 23.8 30.8 24.4 29.6 23.0 29.8 21.7 29.0 17.6 20.0 9.9
5. Tongla 23.9 10.2 25.8 12.3 28.8 15.6 30.2 18.6 30.1 22.7 32.3 22.8 31.1 22.4 32.3 22.8 30.8 21.3 30.5 20.6 30.3 14.3 23.5 11.1
6.Majbat 23.7 8.9 26.0 11.6 30.2 14.6 31.8 18.3 33.6 22.8 31.8 24.5 31.7 23.5 33.3 24.2 31.8 22.8 32.7 22.1 29.9 16.6 24.0 10.0
7.Tezpur 22.8 11.3 26.6 13.2 30.7 16.4 29.5 30.0 31.7 22.9 31.8 24.1 29.8 24.3 31.5 24.8 30.5 23.1 32.9 21.9 33.9 20.0 32.8 13.3
8.Gohpur 21.3 9.4 25.1 10.6 27.3 13.9 28.3 17.9 29.8 21.7 29.0 24.5 29.0 24.0 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 23.9 10.5
9.Chaparmukh _ 15.8 _ 13.8 _ 16.4 20.0 21.6 _ 26.4 _ 25.3 _ 25.5 _ 25.7 _ 24.7 30.0 24.3 28.5 19.6 23.9 11.8
10.Lumding 24.1 7.5 26.8 8.4 31.1 21.1 32.7 17.2 32.5 21.2 32.9 22.8 31.7 23.3 33.7 24.2 32.9 26.4 32.2 21.8 29.6 17.1 25.3 8.4
11.Dibrigarh
A.P 21.6 8.4 24.6 11.9 27.0 15.2 26.9 18.2 29.6 22.0 31.5 24.1 29.6 23.8 31.5 24.7 29.6 22.6 28.6 21.8 28.3 15.9 22.8 9.1
12.Digboi 1.7 7.0 23.3 12.0 _ 15.3 30.5 16.7 _ 16.0 _ 23.3 _ 23.2 32.5 24.2 29.0 22.0 30.2 22.3 _ 17.2 _ 10.2
13.North
Lakhimpur 22.2 10.0 24.2 12.1 26.2 15.5 27.7 19.6 29.8 23.2 31.2 24.4 30.0 24.2 30.1 24.2 30.4 23.8 31.4 23.1 28.9 15.9 24.3 9.7
14.Silchar A.P 21.2 11.9 24.7 13.4 26.8 18.4 29.1 22.0 30.5 24.3 29.4 27.7 27.0 24.8 29.5 25.4 28.1 24.2 _ _ _ _ _ 12.0
15.Haflong 18.7 13.2 21.3 15.8 25.2 20.3 24.5 19.8 27.0 21.7 30.0 22.0 25.6 22.4 29.4 23.3 33.6 26.0 26.7 20.3 24.0 16.7 19.6 9.9
Source : Meteorological Centre. Guwahati.

Maximum and Minimum Temperature(in Celsius)

recorded in Assam during the year.
Stations 1980 1981 1984 1985

Maxi------Mini Maxi------Mini Maxi------Mini Maxi------Mini
1.Dhubri 37 8 36 9 - - - -
2.Guw ahati 35 8 36 7 39 8 35 8
3.Majbat 37 6 37 6 33 11 37 11
4.Tezpur 34 7 37 10 36 9 35 9
5.Chaparmukh 38 8 37 8 35 9 38 9
6.Lumding 37 5 37 8 39 9 37 6
7.Sibsagar - - 32 39 - - - -
8.Dibrugarh 36 6 36 6 37 8 36 6
9.North
Lakhimpur 35 6 36 6 36 5 35 6
10.Silchar 34 8 34 9 33 8 35 6
11.Haflong 34 5 35 5 - - - -
Source -Staistical hand Book,Assam,1982,p-56 and 1987,p-44

GENERAL 101
Monthly Average Maximum and Minimum Temperature(in Celsius)in Assam,1992
Jan Feb. March. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Stations Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini Maxi Mini
1.Chaparmukh 24.5 9.1 27.5 10.5 32.1 11.5 38.5 16.1 35.1 14.5 36.5 18.5 36.1 21.1 37.6 24.1 36.7 21.1 34.1 17.5 29.1 13.5 26.5 9.1
2.Rupsi 27.5 10.2 26.1 5.3 37.9 10.1 40.5 16.7 38.9 18.8 35.9 20.3 35.6 22.7 36.1 23.7 34.9 24.2 32.4 14.5 30.0 8.3 25.8 7.1
3.Dibrugarh 27.4 4.6 26.5 11.8 31.5 12.4 31.5 15.1 33.8 18.7 36.0 22.5 35.8 23.1 36.0 22.2 36.4 21.0 34.3 15.5 31.3 10.4 24.8 5.6
4.Guw ahati 26.8 5.9 26.2 8.9 36.8 11.9 39.4 16.2 34.4 20.2 35.8 22.4 33.8 23.9 35.1 23.7 34.8 1.0 32.8 17.1 30.5 12.2 26.4 8.1
5.Lumding 18.5 5.0 25.5 9.0 29.5 11.0 30.0 20.0 30.7 21.0 33.1 22.5 30.6 22.0 31.6 23.0 33.0 21.0 28.0 26.5 23.6 10.5 19.0 6.5
6.Majbat 28.0 6.0 26.0 9.0 32.0 14.0 34.0 17.0 32.0 17.0 34.0 20.0 33.0 23.0 34.0 24.0 34.0 15.0 31.0 16.0 28.0 7.0 28.0 5.0
7.North
Lakhimpur 28.2 4.2 25.7 7.5 31.4 12.2 31.2 15.3 33.0 18.1 35.8 22.5 35.2 22.6 35.4 23.0 35.4 20.6 33.0 13.8 31.5 9.0 27.7 4.2
8.Silchar 27.7 10.0 29.2 11.7 23.7 15.0 29.5 18.7 24.1 18.3 26.8 22.4 38.4 21.3 38.2 20.2 26.2 22.9 34.1 20.9 34.0 14.5 27.8 10.5
9.Tezpur 27.0 7.6 26.1 7.6 32.6 13.3 34.6 17.1 38.0 18.0 36.4 21.4 35.0 22.9 35.4 22.6 34.4 21.5 33.3 16.6 30.5 12.5 26.6 8.1
Source : Statistical Hand Book,Assam 1993,p-42-45

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ASSAM STATE

1. Source : Survey of India.

6. Assam-Mizoram boundary 130.0 km

3.Census India,1971,Assam,Series 3, Part II-A,General Population Tables,p-12.

Districts Area (Km2)

Source:Director of census operation,Assam.

Year Population Decade Variation Percentage Decade Variation

(1) (2) (3) (4)

4. W.W. Hunter; The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. 1, Second Edition.p.343.

5. Census of India,1951,Volume XII,Assam, Manipur and Tripura,Part I A Report,p-3

District the period between 1951 to 1961.

District Area (sq.km) Population Sub-division

(1) (2) (3) (4)

Source : Direct of census Operations,Assam.

6. Tather M.: Physiographic Frame of N.E. India,'Geography of Ne India,NEn.Geography,

7. Taher. M : Physiographic Framework of North East India,North Eastern Geography,Vol – 18

numerous swamps or 'bills and jhils.

8. Census of India,1961,Vol III, Assam,p.14.

9.Souvenir : Assam Science Society,p.21

Month Sediment load Discharge volume Percentage of silt

January 986,784 0.12 0.0093

between the places named.12

12. Souvenir – Assam Science Society.

River Power W Nature of Development

Lower Dam Power 6,000 MW Major storage scheme near

The Dihang 600 MW Mainly run-off the river with

The Subansiri 1,000 MW Storage scheme with 150 high

South bank tributaries :

Grant Total 12,5000 MW

13. Souvenir-- Assam Science Society,p-51

14. Census of India,1961,Vol. III,Assam,General Report,p,15.

Of the major minerals,namely,coal and gas,limestone,sillimanite and corundum,refactory

Comprehensive accounts in respects of geological antiquities,geological formation etc.,of the different

15.Census of India,1961,Vol III,Assam Part- 1-A,General Report,p,31.

year Production.(000 metric tonnes)

The Statement below shows the colliery-wise production of coal in Assam. 18

16.District Census Handbook,1961,Sibsagar.

(In '000 metric tonnes )

18. Statistical Hand Book,Assam,1993,p.1990

20. W.B,Metre and Y.Nagappa : Oil Products in India,p.8

and beds of bils.

Name of mineral Year 1960

23. Census of India,1961, Assam,General Report,p.34.

production of all these minerals increased many times in recent years.

Forest 1979-80 1985-86 1991-92 1992-93

25. Statistical Hand Book,Assam,1981,p.86-87:1988.p 77-78: 1992.p.80-81;

1979-80 1985-86 1991-92 1992-93

20.N.C. Hills 633.58 663.17 617.66 617.66

(F) FAUNA (ZOOLOGY) :

Order/Family Genera Species Sub-species

1.Podicipididae (Grebs) Podiceps ruficollis

Hypocolius) Bombycilla garrulus

The Burmese species of white pea fowls is Pavo muticus.

Singing and talking birds :

1. Ithaginis cruentus,size 45 cm.Blood pheasant.

Turtle and Tortoises

1.Trakidromus sexylineatus khasiensis

Monitor lizard :Varanidae

The snake fauna of Assam comprises the following families.

1.Typhlopidae :Blind snakes :

Dasypeltidae-Egg eating snake:

Viperidae—Vipers and pitvipers

Amphibians includes frogs,toads,newts,salamanders and caecilians .They exhibit endless