South Salmara-Mankachar district-The Daily Ledger

South Salmara-Mankachar is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarter is located at Hatsingimari village which is situated at about 245 km from Guwahati. It was earlier a sub-division of the Dhubri District.

History

South Salmara-Mankachar 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, Lower Assam and Central Assam Division Md. Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, IAS inaugurated South Salmara Mankachar as an administrative district at a function in Hatsingimari with the presence of thousands of people. There are few historical sites in the district. However, the famous ones are the tomb of Mir Jumla and Kamakhya Temple at Mankachar.

South Salmara-Mankachar district

Geography

South Salmara-Mankachar district occupies an area of . It occupies 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. It shares its borders with Bangladesh in the west and Meghalaya in the south-east.The general topography of South Salmara Mankachar district is plain with patches of small hillocks like Bansali, Rangatari, etc. All these are situated in the southwestern part of the district. Mighty river Brahmaputra is flowing through this district from east to west with its tributaries, and the majority of the population live on chars in the river. Other rivers are Jinjiram, Kalonadi (also known as Ganol) etc. The average annual rainfall of the district is .

South Salmara-Mankachar 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 sugarcane 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 contributions 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.

South Salmara-Mankachar district

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

Divisions

The district's only sub-division is Hatsingimari (also called Sadar") and there are two revenue circles: Mankachar and South Salmara. Mankachar is a census town and the district has three police stations.

There are two Assam Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district; 21 Mankachar and 22 South Salmara. Both are part of the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the district has a population of 555,114, of which 26,162 (4.71%) live in urban areas. South Salmara-Mankachar has a sex ratio of 968 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 50.76%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 7,767 (1.40%) and 4,032 (0.73%) of the population respectively.

About 95.19% of the population are Muslims, 4.49% are Hindu and rest 0.3% are Christians and Sikhs.

Languages

According to the 2011 census, in the district 325,055 speak Assamese and 218,268 speak Bengali. Minority languages such as Hindi and Hajong are spoken by 2.12% of the population.