Jorhat


Jorhat is a city in the Indian state of Assam, located 300 km east of state capital Dispur. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jorhat District. Jorhat is also the home to Asia's oldest golf course the Jorhat Gymkhana Club. Located on the banks of the Bhogdoi River, Jorhat continues to be amongst the fastest growing urban centers in the state of Assam.

Etymology

Jorhat means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite banks of the Bhugdoi river.

History

Under British Rule

In 1885, a narrow-gauge railway, Jorehaut Provincial Railway, became operational. In time, this contributed to the rapid growth of the tea industry around the whole region.

Geography

Jorhat is located at. It has an average elevation of.
The municipality covers an area of, has 19 wards with a population of 71,398 as per 2011 census.The district spreads over and had a population of 870,000 according to a 1991 census. Population density at that time was. The sex ratio is 913.

Climate

Demographics

Jorhat Municipal Board had a population of 1,26,736 as of the 2011 census.
The average literacy rate of Jorhat in 2011 was 91.39%. Gender-wise, male and female literacy were 93.63% and 88.99% respectively, which is one of the highest in the state.
Jorhat's sex ratio stood at 935 females per 1000 males, according to the Census 2011 Directorate.
Hindus were 87.49% of the population, while Muslims were 10.50% and Christians 0.62% of the population respectively.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are 6.40% and 1.84% of the population respectively.

Languages

is the predominant language and is spoken by 70.08% of the population, while Bengali was spoken by 12.27%. Hindi and Bhojpuri are spoken by migrants from the Gangetic plains, such as traders and labourers. Ethnic languages like Mising and Deori are also spoken by the respective ethnicity. Other small languages in the city include Marwari, Sadri, Santali, Sora and Odia which in total are spoken by 5.04% of the population.

Culture

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

Media

In 1935, the first Assamese daily newspaper Dainik Batori was published from Jorhat by Raibahadur Siva Prasad Barooah. The daily newspapers which have Jorhat editions include Dainik Janambhumi, Amar Asom, Dainik Agradoot and Asomiya Khabar in Assamese, the Purbanchal Prohori in Hindi and The Telegraph in English. The Eastern Clarion was the first English daily published from the city, but it was ceased. Besides the dailies, a weekly newspaper Saptahik Janambhumi is also published from Jorhat. City Guide of Jorhat was the first yellow pages, published in July 1987. Jorhat has a radio broadcast station of All India Radio located on the outskirts of the city at Garmur.

District Court

The District & Sessions Judge of Upper Assam District, Jorhat, was established on November 15, 1948, and became permanent on April 1, 1953. The first District & Sessions Judge of Assam Valley, Upper Assam Districts, Jorhat, was Mr. S.K. Das, M.A., B.L. Currently, the district's territorial jurisdiction extends over two sub-divisions: Majuli Sub-Division and Titabar Sub-Division. Altogether, the District & Sessions Judge and the Chief Judicial Magistrate comprise 15 courts staffed by Judicial Officers of various grades. The District & Sessions Judge together with the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court Complex, Jorhat is situated in the heart of the city. The Present District & Sessions Judge as the head of the establishment is Shri Mridul Kumar Kalita. The present Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jorhat, the head of all the Criminal Courts is Sri Vijay Kumar Singh.

Transport

Air

The Jorhat Airport, commonly known as Rowriah Airport, is located at Rowriah, a suburb of Jorhat, about 7 kilometres from the city centre. The airport has flight connectivity to Kolkata and Delhi operated by IndiGo. It is controlled by the Airports Authority of India.

Rail

The first rail connectivity of Jorhat began during British era in 1885, when Jorehaut Provincial Railway, a narrow-gauge railway services became operational.
Jorhat is served by Jorhat Town railway station which lies on the Furkating-Jorhat-Mariani branch line of Tinsukia railway division. Mariani Junction railway station, the major railway junction of the district is about from Jorhat. It falls in the Lumding-Dibrugarh section and is well connected to all the large cities of the country by long-distance express trains.

Road

The Inter State Bus Terminus of Jorhat is at Kotoki Pukhuri, Tarajan. It operates daily bus services from ASTC and private operators to other towns and cities in the state and few destinations of the Northeast. Auto-rickshaws, local cabs and rickshaws are the main mode of public transport within the city.

Water

The daily ferry services connect the Nimati ghat with Kamalabari and Aphalamukh in Majuli.
The Neamati multimodal waterways terminal on Brahmaputra National Waterway 2 in Jorhat district is part of the Bharatmala and Sagarmala projects.

Education and research institutions

Research institutes

Established in 1950, the multi-purpose Jorhat Stadium is the oldest stadium of Assam, which is mainly used for cricket and football.
It has hosted few Ranji Trophy matches. The prominent football tournament ATPA Shield held every year in this venue since 1955. Jorhat Town Club used the stadium as home ground for their home matches of Assam State Premier League. Other sporting venues near the stadium include JDSA Field, Kushal Konwar Indoor Stadium, Jorhat Swimming Society and Jorhat Tennis Club. The historic sporting venue Jorhat Gymkhana Club known for the century old annual horse race called Jorhat Races, which began in 1877. It has a golf course and a cricket ground.

Politics

Jorhat is part of Jorhat . Gaurav Gogoi, Indian National Congress is the current Member of Parliament serving the 18th Lok Sabha from Jorhat, Assam.
Hitendra Nath Goswami of BJP is the incumbent MLA from Jorhat assembly constituency.

Notable people