South Salmara Mankachar district

Etymology

The name South Salmara-Mankachar comes from the Legislative constituency South Salmara and Mankachar.

History

South Salmara-Mankachar District was created by bifurcating Old Dhubri district in 2016. On 15 August 2015 Assam's Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced 5 new administrative district in Assam; South Salmara Mankachar was one among those. On 9 February 2016 Commissioner M.I. Ahmed inaugurated South Salmara-Mankachar as an administrative district at a function in Hatsingimari with the presence of thousands of people.

Geography

South Salmara-Mankachar district occupies an area of 568 square kilometres (219 sq mi). It accupies 980/km 2 (2,500/sq mi) of density and is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located at Hatsingimari town which is situated at about 245 km from Guwahati, the state capital. Earlier it was a sub-division of Dhubri District.

Economy

South Salmara-Mankachar District is primarily dependent on agricultural and forest products. The main source of income is paddy (both winter and autumn) with surplus production. Jute and mustard seed occupy the major share of cash crops. Wheat, maize, pulses and sugar cane are also grown moderately. From forest, mainly timber and bamboo add to the income, though boulders and sand are also available. Fish, milk, meat, and eggs have small contribution to the economy. Currently three tea gardens, whose contribution to the district economy is almost negligible, cover an area of 1362.33 hectares. Land revenue collection is minimal, whereas tax from check gates and excise duty occupy much of the government exchequer. Devoid of major industrial production, the district uses more funds for administration, development, and welfare works than it provides.

Its rich natural wealth is yet to be explored and some believe that proper utilization of natural resources could provide a boost for the struggling economy.

Divisions

There are one Sub-Division(Sadar) and 2 Revenue Circles:

1. South Salmara Revenue Circle Office
2. Hatsingimari (Sadar)
3. Mankachar Revenue Circle Office

There is a Census Town: Mankachar.

The district has 3 police stations.

There are two Assam Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district: 21 Mankachar, 22 South Salmara. All two are in the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency.

Demographics

General topography of South Salmara-Mankachar district is plain with patches of small hillocks like Bansali, Rangatari etc. All these are situated in the south western part of the district. Mighty river Brahmaputra is flowing through this district from east to west with its tributaries. Other rivers are Jinjiram, Kalonadi, etc. The average annual rainfall of the district is 2,916 mm.

Places

The main places in South Salmara-Mankachar district are Hatsingimari, Mankachar, Kakripara,Sukchar, South Salmara, Patakata, Baghapara, Fekamari, Jhaudanga, Gazarikandi, Kukurmara Hazirhat,Gotabari, Kanaimara,borobalu,khopati, molakhawa etc.

Historical Sites

There are few historical sites in the district. However, the famous ones are the tomb of Mir Jumla II and Kamakhya Temple at Mankachar.

Education

At present the district houses 3 colleges for higher education; "Hatsingimari College", at Hatsingimari, "Mankachar College" situated in Mankachar and "South Salmara College", at South Salmara. These colleges imparts degrees (BA and BSc) and certificates (HSSLC) in the science and arts streams. Apart from these, The J. M. Higher secondary School, Mankachar, A.P.H.S. School, Kakripara S. Ali Higher secondary school, Sukchar and R.B.P.Higher Secondary School,South Salmara are the four important and oldest schools of South Salmara-Mankachar district. Moreover,there are 5 private colleges in South Salmara-Mankachar district.These are "South Salmara junior college,Tumni(Arts and Science)" at South Salmara "Apollo Academy",at Hatsingimari "Elite Academy",at Hatsingimari, "Vision National Academy",at Kharuabandha, "Ajmal College",at Kharuabandha.South Salmara jr college imparts H.S Arts and Science.And the rest four private colleges imparts H.S science stream only.

S.Ali HS School

The school was founded in the year 1947 by Shri.Nurazzaman Mondal, and was funded by his uncle Mr.Samsher Ali Mondal, after whom the school was named. The Mondal Family was the Zamindar of Sukchar and its adjoining areas in pre-independent India. Shri. Nurazzaman Mondal was B.A, B.T from Kolkata and had an aim to educate the region. He had 7 children, and the nearest high school was J.M HS School at Mankachar, which was about 22km away. So he requested his uncle Samsher Ali to help him in building a high school for the education of his children and the people of the area, to which Mr.Ali donated 10,000 rupees (which sums about 1 crore rupees in present day INR value). And with that money Nurazzaman Mondal built the school and made a retired local MLA (Mr. Kobad Hussain) the first Headmaster of the High School, and he himself stayed in the post of Assistant Headmaster. Later Nurazzaman Mondal served as the Headmaster of the school for about 22 years until his retirement. The High School proved itself as a milestone in the History of education in the district of South Salmara Mankachar as well as Dhubri. In a local census, it is found that about 45% of each and every educated person in South Salmara Mankachar District aged between 40-75 years (as of 2015) are found to have studied in S.Ali HS School.

Culture

The culture of the people in this district is a fusion of Assamese and Bengali cultures. About 85% population are Muslims, 14% are Hindu and rest 1% are Christians and Sikhs. Some people speak Goalparia Bengali (of Assam) and some people speak Mymensinghi Bengali (of Bangladesh) . Those who speak Goalparia Bengali are called Ujani and those who speak Mymensinghi Bengali are called Bhatiya in the district. There are few many differences between the Ujani and Bhatiya cultures. Ghoti and Tribal peoples, who are few in numbers also contribute to the culture of the district.

Airway

Nearest airport at Rupshi which is about 90 km away from the headquarter Hatsingimari . It was constructed during World War II by the British Govt. mainly for military purpose. Till 1983, the Indian Airlines and some private commercial flights operated regularly between Calcutta, Guwahati and Dhubri. Now it is totally closed. However, recently the ministry of DONER, GOI, has taken some initiative to renovate and functionalise the airport.

Waterway

The town had a very busy river port on the bank of the Brahmaputra, which was used as an international trade centre with the neighbouring countries, specially in British era. At present, the port is lying idle. However, small ferries transports people to and fro Dhubri every day.

Railway

There is no Railway station in this district.

Road

There is no National Highway in the district. Transportation takes place through state maintained pwd roads, which are full of potholes.