Guwahati

Guwahati (i/ɡʊwəˈhɑːti/; Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam, Gauhati in the modern era) is the largest city of Assam and Northeastern India, a major riverine port city and one of the fastest growing cities in India, situated on the South Bank of the Brahmaputra River.

The ancient cities of Pragjyotishpura and Durjaya (North Guwahati) were the capitals of the ancient state of Kamarupa under the Varman and Pala dynasties. Many ancient Hindu temples are in the city, giving it the name "City of Temples". Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam.

Guwahati lies between the banks of the Brahmaputra River and the foothills of the Shillong plateau, with LGB International Airport to the west and the town of Narengi to the east. It is gradually being expanded as North Guwahati to the northern bank of the Brahmaputra. The noted Madan Kamdev is situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Guwahati. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), the city's local government, administers an area of 216 square kilometres (83 sq mi), while the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is the planning and development body of greater Guwahati Metropolitan Area. With an area of 1,528 square kilometres (590 sq mi), Guwahati is the second-largest metropolitan region in eastern India, after Kolkata.

The Guwahati region hosts diverse wildlife including rare animals such as Asian elephants, pythons, tigers, rhinoceros, gaurs, primate species, and endangered birds.

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 Bhaskar Varman (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 Bazaar 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.

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.[not in citation given]

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.

Cuisine

An authentic Assamese meal begins with 'Khaar' (an alkaline dish), followed by the main course such as meat, 'Maasor Tenga' (sour fish curry), green leafy vegetables and complimented by 'Aaloo Pitika' (mashed potato). 'Tamul' (betel nut) and 'paan' generally conclude the meal.[better source needed]

Transport

Air

Guwahati is served by the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, situated at Borjhar, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) west from the heart of the city. With all major domestic airlines flying into Guwahati, it is the eighth busiest airport in India in terms of both international and domestic passenger traffic. Daily flights are available to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore from the airport.

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 availalable for transportation of people from different ports along the Brahmaputra to Pandu port.

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.

City animal

Guwahati is the first and to date the only Indian city to have a city animal.

The Gangetic river dolphin has been elected to be Guwahati's city animal.