Guwahati

Etymology

Once known as Pragjyotishpura (the Light of the East), Guwahati derives its name from the Assamese words "Guwa" meaning areca nut and "Haat" meaning market.

History

Ancient History

Guwahati's myths and history go back several thousands of years. Although the exact date of the city's beginning is unknown, references in the epics, Puranas, and other traditional histories of India, lead many to assume that it is one of the ancient cities of Asia. Epigraphic sources place the capitals of many ancient kingdoms in Guwahati. It was the capital of the kings Narakasura and Bhagadatta according to the Mahabharata. Located within Guwahati is the ancient Shakti temple of Goddess Kamakhya in Nilachal hill (an important seat of Tantric and Vajrayana Buddhism), the ancient and unique astrological temple Navagraha in Chitrachal Hill, and archaeological remains in Basistha and other archaeological locations of mythological importance.

The Ambari excavations trace the city to the Hindu kingdoms of Shunga-Kushana period of Indian history, between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. During earlier periods of the city's history it was known as Pragjyotishpura, and was the capital of Assam under the Varman Dynasty of the Kamarupa kingdom. Descriptions by Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) reveal that during the reign of the Varman king Bhaskaravarman (7th century AD), the city stretched for about 30 li (15 km or 9.3 mi). It remained as the capital of Assam until the 10th-11th century AD under the rule of the Pala dynasty. Archaeological evidence by excavations in Ambari, and excavated brick walls and houses discovered during construction of the present Cotton College's auditorium suggest the city was of economic and strategic importance until the 9th-11th century AD.

Medieval History

The city was the seat of the Borphukan, the civil military authority of the Lower Assam region appointed by the Ahom kings. The Borphukan's residence was in the present Fancy Bazar area, and his council-hall, called Dopdar, was about 300 yards (270 m) to the west of the Bharalu stream. The Majindar Baruah, the personal secretary of the Borphukan, had his residence in the present-day deputy commissioner's residence.

The Mughals invaded Assam seventeen times, and they were defeated by the Ahoms in Battle of Itakhuli and Battle of Saraighat. During the Battle of Saraighat, fought in Saraighat in 1671, the Mughals were overrun due to the strong leadership and hard work of Lachit Borphukan. The great embankment called ‘Mumai-Kota Gorh’, named after an incident in which Lachit had to slay (Kota) his own maternal uncle (Mumai) for being lazy in building the embankment (Gorh) that runs along the outskirts of the city, stands as a proof of the hard work and war-readiness on the part of the Ahoms. There was an ancient boat yard in Dighalipukhuri, probably used by the Ahoms in medieval times. Medieval constructions include temples, ramparts, etc. in the city.

Urban morphology

Guwahati's 'urban form' radiates from a central core with growth corridors radiating and extending towards the south, east and west. In the past few decades, southern Guwahati areas such as Ganeshguri, Beltola, Hatigaon, Six Mile and Panjabari began forming a southern sub-center surrounding the capital complex at Dispur. The core area consists of the old city with Pan Bazaar, Paltan Bazaar, Fancy Bazaar and Uzan Bazaar, with each area facilitating unique urban activities.

Among the city corridors, the most important is the corridor formed along the Guwahati-Shillong (GS) Road towards the south (almost 15 km [9.3 mi] from the city-center). The GS Road corridor is an important commercial area with retail, wholesale and commercial offices developed along the main road; it is also a densely built residential area in the inner parts. The capital complex of Assam at Dispur is situated in this corridor. This corridor has facilitated the growth of a southern city sub-center at Ganeshguri, along with other residential areas to the south developed during the past few decades.

The corridor extending towards the west (around 30 km [19 mi] from the city-center) contains a rail-road linking not only Guwahati but also other parts of the northeastern region east of Guwahati to western Assam and the rest of India. The corridor links residential and historically important areas such as Nilachal Hill (Kamakhya), Pandu, and Maligaon (headquarters of Northeast Frontier Railways) before it separates into two – one towards North Guwahati via the Saraighat Bridge and the other continuing west towards LGB International Airport via Gauhati University (Jalukbari). There are also many river ports/jetties along this corridor.

The third major corridor extends towards the east (around 15 km from the city-center) linking Noonmati (Guwahati Refinery) and Narengi, and has facilitated residential growth along it. Highway NH-37, which encircles the city's southern parts and links the southern corridor in Noumile to the western corridor in Jalukbari is currently supporting rapid development. Similarly, the VIP Road linking Zoo Road with the eastern corridor and recently completed Hengerabari-Narengi Road are also supporting massive residential development to the east.

Guwahati is one among 98 Indian cities which will be upgraded to Smart Cities under a project embarked on by Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. With the grade of a Smart city, Guwahati will have highly up-to-date and radical provisions like regular and continuous electric supply, first-rate traffic and transport system, superior health care and many other prime utilities. Under this scheme, the city will use digital technology that will act as the integral mechanism of the aforesaid facilities and thereby further elevate the lifestyle of the citizens of Guwahati.

Geography

To the south-west of the city lies Dipor Bil, a permanent freshwater lake with no prominent inflows apart from monsoon run-off from the hills that lie to the south of the lake. The lake drains into the Brahmaputra, 5 km (3.1 mi) to the north, and acts as a natural stormwater reservoir for the city.

Climate

Guwahati has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa), falling just short of a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). The average annual temperature is 24.2 °C, with extremes ranging from 40.6 °C recorded on 24 April 2014 to 3.0 °C recorded in January 1964.

Administration & Governance

Dispur, the capital of Assam, lies in Guwahati. The passing of North Eastern (Reorganization Areas) Act in 1971 by the Indian Parliament accorded Meghalaya the status of a full-fledged state. After the creation of Meghalaya as a separate state, Shillong continued to be the joint capital of both Assam and Meghalaya. However, in 1972, the Government of Assam decided to shift the capital to Dispur. Accordingly, the first sitting of the Budget Session of the Assam Legislative Assembly was held at Dispur on 16 March 1973. Dispur houses the Secretariat of Assam Government, the Assam Assembly House, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Regional Office, the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi) House and the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC).

Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) is the local body responsible for governing, developing and managing the city. GMC is further divided into 31 municipal wards. Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is an agency responsible for planning and development of the greater Guwahati Metropolitan Area and for revising the Guwahati Master Plan and Building Bylaws to cover an area of 3,214 square kilometres (1,241 sq mi) by 2025.

Guwahati consists of four assembly constituencies: Jalukbari, Dispur, Gauhati East and Gauhati West, all of which are part of Gauhati (Lok Sabha constituency).

Police

Guwahati is the headquarters of Assam Police. The city is under the Police Commissionerate of Guwahati headed by the Commissioner of Police, Guwahati. It is divided into three districts: East Police District, Central Police District and West Police District, each headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police. Each police district consists of officers, not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police, functioning as executive magistrates within a said metropolitan area.

Judiciary

Guwahati is the principal seat of the Gauhati High Court. It acts as the High Court of Assam and also of Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh with their outlying benches of Kohima, Aizawl and Itanagar respectively. Gauhati High Court came in effect from 5 April 1948. It initially had its sittings at Shillong but was shifted to Gauhati from 14 August 1948.

Guwahati also houses the Court of the District & Sessions Judge, Kamrup established in 1920. It is a lower court of the district judiciary having territorial jurisdiction over the greater Guwahati area only.

Infrastructure

The city has a comparatively high quality of life. A 2006 survey ranked Guwahati 17th among all the large and medium-sized Indian cities. The city provides competitive residential and working environments with beautiful landscapes, pleasant climate, modern shopping areas, modern apartments and bungalows, and considerably developed social infrastructure. A centrally funded four-lane, ambitious East-West Corridor will pass through Guwahati and connect all the state capitals of Northeast India. Completion of the project will boost the vital upliftment of the whole region.

The city still needs attention to improve its infrastructure. Funding from the Asian Development Bank is providing assistance to improve Guwahati's transportation infrastructure along with a substantial amount from Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for its development.

Population

Guwahati is one of the fastest growing cities in India. It is estimated that Guwahati metro will house 2.8 million residents by 2025.

The percentage of child population of Guwahati is 9.40%. The average literacy rate is stated to be 91.47% with male literacy at 94.24% and female literacy at 88.50%. The sex ratio has been recorded to be 933 females per 1000 males and child sex ratio to be 940 girls per 1000 boys.

Economy

Pandu, located on the banks of the Brahmaputra at the western part of the city, is an ancient urban area that acted as the chief military base for the Ahoms against external invasions. Due to extensive fortification ('Gorh') surrounding Pandu, it acts as a natural river harbour and is formally called Gar-Pandu. Pandu port falls under Dhubri-Sadiya National Waterway-2 and is an important terminal cum transit point for goods and cargo as well as passenger and tourist vessels. Construction of both low-level and high-level jetty of fixed terminal, capable of handling container vessels, has been completed and has further enhanced revenue generation for the city.

Manufacturing sector in Guwahati contributes a substantial share to the economy of the city. Petroleum manufacturing is an important economic activity of the city. The Guwahati Refinery is the most important manufacturing industry in the city. Located at Noonmati, the refinery was set up by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited as the first public sector refinery of India as well as the refinery of Indian Oil since 1962. It was built with an initial crude processing capacity of 0.75 million metric tons per annum (MMTPA) at the time of its commission which was gradually increased to 1.0 MMTPA. It produces various products and supplies them to the other northeast states and also beyond to Siliguri through the Guwahati-Siliguri pipeline. The various products produced by the refinery include Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Kerosene Oil, Turbine Fuel (aviation use), Motor Spirit, High Speed Motor Diesel, Light Diesel Oil and Raw Petroleum Coke. There is also an LPG bottling plant in the city.

Tea manufacturing and processing is another important activity of Guwahati. Assam is one of the highest tea-producing areas in the world, contributing 80% of India's export and 55% of the country's total tea production. So high is the production of tea in Assam that it is the biggest industry of the state. The headquarters of the Assam Branch Indian Tea Association (ABITA) is located at Guwahati. The Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC), located adjacent to the capital complex at Dispur, is the world's largest CTC tea auction centre and the second largest in terms of total tea auctioned. The inaugural sale took place on 25 September 1970 and the first lot of tea was auctioned at the price of Rs. 42.50 which, during those days, was a big achievement.

Many centralised, private and international banks have set up their branches in the city with the Reserve Bank Of India having one of its own at Pan Bazaar.

Air

Guwahati is served by the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, in Borjhar, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) west from the heart of the city. With all major domestic and international airlines flying into Guwahati, it is the thirteenth busiest airport in India in total passenger traffic. Daily and weekly flights are available to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Bangkok, Paro and other important destinations.

Rail

The city of Guwahati and the northeastern region falls under the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Zone of the Indian Railways. The Guwahati Junction, located in Paltan Bazaar area of Guwahati, is the major railway station of the city. It lies along the Barauni-Guwahati Line and Guwahati–Lumding section, categorised as an A-1 railway station under Lumding railway division. There are three more railway stations in the city – the Kamakhya Junction for passenger and goods services, the New Guwahati Junction (near Noonmati) for only freight services and Azara Railway Station, also primarily used for freight services. There are regular trains connecting Guwahati to and from other major cities of the country. Rajdhani Express, Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express, Brahmaputra Express, Kamrup Express, Northeast Express, Saraighat Express and Garib Rath are some significant trains running to and from Guwahati. The train with the longest route in India, Vivek Express, which runs from Dibrugarh in Upper Assam to Kanyakumari in southern tip of India passes through Guwahati Junction.

Road

The length of surfaced roads within the city is 218 km (135 mi). National Highway 31 connects Guwahati with the states Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. National Highway 37 from Goalpara in Assam to Dimapur in Nagaland traverses the entire length of Assam and connects Guwahati with almost all the major cities of Assam including the cities of Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Bongaigaon.

The public transportation is well developed in the city. Buses are the major means of public transport in Guwahati. The Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) and private operators provide the city bus services within the city. ASTC operates the Volvo air-conditioned bus services within the city as well as to the LGBI airport. In addition to this, there are a number of bus operators which regularly run day and night buses from Guwahati to neighbouring towns and cities. Rupnath Brahma Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT), located at Betkuchi area on NH-37, is the most significant terminal cum transit point for buses plying between Guwahati and other destinations in Assam and Northeast India. The areas of Adabari and Paltan Bazaar also act as nodal points in providing bus services to towns and cities in Assam and adjoining states.

A metro rail project has also been planned to relieve the hectic traffic conditions on the streets.

Water

The Inland Water Transport Department is headquartered at Pandu port in Guwahati. The waterways transportation services in Guwahati are used for transporting bulk goods and cargo, and for movement of passenger and tourist vessels. Ferry services are available for transportation of people from different ports along the Brahmaputra to Pandu port.

Education

Guwahati is the major educational hub of Northeast India. Among the esteemed institutions is the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT), an autonomous institute dedicated in the field of technical studies in India.The Indian Institute of Information Technology Guwahati. The Cotton College is yet another century-old autonomous institution in the fields of Science and Arts.

Guwahati has numerous educational institutes such as Gauhati University, Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences, Assam Science and Technology University, Gauhati Commerce College, Handique Girls College, Cotton College State University, National Law University and Judicial Academy, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Assam Engineering College, Assam Institute of Management, Assam Don Bosco University, Assam Down Town University and Royal Global University.

Sports

Guwahati features the multi-purpose Nehru Stadium which hosts mainly cricket and football; while the Kanaklata Indoor Stadium in the R.G. Baruah Sports Complex (in the Ulubari locality) is one of the oldest sports complex in the city. There are smaller stadiums in Maligaon (the North-East Frontier Railway Stadium) and in Paltan Bazaar where the Sports Authority of India (SAI) complex is located.

The sporting infrastructure specially constructed for the 33rd National Games in 2007 include a large stadium at Sarusajai—the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, the Dr. Zakir Hussain Aquatic Complex, and the Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi A.C. Indoor Hall. Other new sports structures include the Maulana Md. Tayabullah Hockey Stadium at Bhetapara, the Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phookan Indoor Stadium at Ulubari, Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Amingaon, Chachal Tennis Complex and Tepesia Sports Complex. The other renovated sports complexes include Ganesh Mandir Indoor Stadium at Khanapara, Rudra Singha Sports Complex at Dispur and Gauhati University Sports Stadium. The Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium was also the main venue of 2016 South Asian Games, which was held from 5 to 16 February 2016. Indra Gandhi Athletic Stadium also hosted the Himalayan Region Games in 2017.

Guwahati is home to football club NorthEast United FC which competes in the Indian Super League.

ACA Stadium is a cricket stadium located at Barsapara in Guwahati.

Media & telecommunications

Assamese daily newspapers published from the city are Dainik Agradoot, Asomiya Pratidin, Asomiya Khobor, Amar Asom, Dainik Janambhumi, Janasadharan, Niyomiya Barta, Dainik Asam, Ajir Asom and Gana Adhikar. English dailies are The Assam Tribune, The Sentinel, The Telegraph, The Times of India and Eastern Chronicle. Eclectic Northeast Magazine is a leading Guwahati-based monthly Northeast magazine with an online version. G Plus is the only English weekly tabloid published from Guwahati.

Doordarshan Kendra Guwahati provides composite satellite television services to Northeast India. The Guwahati-based 24-hour regional news channels include News Live, DY 365, Pratidin Time, Prag News, Assam Talks and News 18 Assam/North-East.

The Guwahati Radio Station of state-owned All India Radio was inaugurated on 1 July 1948 as Shillong-Guwahati Station. The Headquarter of the Shillong-Guwahati Station was shifted from Shillong to Guwahati in 1953. It is a full-fledged Regional broadcasting station with 3 channels; the Guwahati A & B Channels are AM Channels and the CBS Channel is a FM Channel. The other FM stations include 92.7 BIG FM, Radio Gup-Shup 94.3 FM, Red FM 93.5 and Radio Mirchi. Telecom services are BSNL, Aircel, Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea Cellular and Jio.

Growth issues

Guwahati has seen a rapid rise in population in the past few years. People from other parts of the state and the region routinely migrate to the city chiefly for education and occupation resulting in undesirable expansion of population in the city, which further brings with it many collateral problems in the city.

One of the economic problems that the citizens of Guwahati have to put up with is the hike in prices of many essentials, chiefly vegetable, poultry and fish. The prices of these commodities keep escalating at an inordinate rate because of which the buyers find it difficult to buy these items. Vegetables are transported into Assam from West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Meghalaya and the truckers en route have to pay considerable amount of money as tax at various check posts. It is one of the causes of rise in prices of vegetables in the markets of Guwahati. The prices of locally available vegetables and fruits undergo large markup because of transportation expenses grounds, besides intra-State check posts taxes. In addition to these, the wholesale dealers as well as the retail sellers augment the prices of the commodities according to their own desires. The prices of poultry, mainly chicken that reach the city markets from places like Chaygaon and Barpeta have been soaring rapidly because of similar factors. There has been steep rise in the prices of fishes as well, the prominent varieties of which being Rohu ("Rou"), Catla ("Bahu"), Walking catfish ("Magur") and Monopterus ("Kuchia") among many others.