Lakhimpur district General information

Lakhimpur is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located at North Lakhimpur. The district occupies an area of 2277 km² and has a population of 889,325 (as of 2001).

History

Lakhimpur figures largely in the annals of Assam as the region where successive invaders from the east first reached the Brahmaputra. The Bara Bhuiyas, originally from the western provinces of India, were driven out by the Chutias (a Shan race), and these in their turn gave place to their more powerful brethren, the Ahoms in the 13th century. The Burmese, who had ruined the native kingdoms, at the end of the 18th century were in 1825 expelled by the British, who placed the southern part of the country, together with Sibsagar under the rule of Raja Purandhar Singh; but it was not till 1838 that the whole was taken under direct British administration. The headquarters are at Dibrugarh.

Location

Lakhimpur District is situated on the North East corner of Assam . The district lies between 26048’ and 27053’ northern latitude and 93042’ and 94020’ east longitude (approx.)

It is bounded on the north by Siang and Papumpare District of Arunachal Pradesh and on the east by Dhemaji District and Subansiri river. Majuli Sub Division of Jorhat District stands on the southern side  and Gahpur sub division of Sonitpur District is on the West.

 The District covers an area of 2277 Sqkm out of  which  2257 Sqkm  is rural and 20 sqkm  is urban.


Forest

Forests are mainly tropical rain forest. Important reserved forests includes Ranga Reserve, Kakoi Reserve, Dulung Reserve and Pava Reserve. Some varieties are Xollokh (Terminalia myriocarpa), Ajhar (lagerstroemia speciosa), Ximolu (Bombax ceiba or Salmalia malabarica), Sum (Machilus), Gomari (Gmelina arborea), Sisu (Dalbergia sissoo), Xilikha (Terminalia chebula), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Nahar (Mesua ferrea) etc. Wild elephants, buffaloes, tigers, deer etc are there in the forests. Varieties of bird species are observed in swampy areas.


River

The great Subansiri river has legends of once famous gold washing. But as of now there is no any major exploration of minerals in the district, except some minor exploration for petroleum by ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) near Dhakuakhana.