Silchar

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Silchar
শিলচর
City
Aerial view of the Barak river, Silchar
Aerial view of the Barak river, Silchar
Nickname(s): The City Of Love ; The Island of Peace
Silchar is located in Assam
Silchar
Silchar
Location in Assam, India
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country India
State Assam
District Cachar
Government
 • Body Silchar Municipality Board
 • No. of Wards 28
Elevation 22 m (72 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 228,985
 • Rank 2 (in Assam after Guwahati )
Languages
 • Official Bengali
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 7880xx
Telephone code +91 (0) 3842
Vehicle registration AS-11
Website www.cachar.nic.in

Silchar (/ˈsɪlˌʧə/ or /ˈʃɪlˌʧə/) (Bengali: শিলচর Shilchôr) is the headquarters of Cachar district in the state of Assam in India. It is 343 kilometres (213 mi) south east of Guwahati. It is the second-largest city of the state in terms of population and municipal area.[1]

It also has the 2nd busiest Airport(76 civilian flights/week) in Assam and 4th busiest in North east after Gauwhati, Agartala and Imphal. Silchar airport is hosted in www.flightradar24.com, along with Guwahati, Agartala and Imphal in the NE region.[2]

Silchar at night, December 2014
Language Martyr's Memorial at Silchar Railway Station

Being politically stable in the otherwise disturbed Northeast earned it the bon mot of "Island of Peace" from India's then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.[3]

Approximately 90% residents of Silchar are Bengalis who speak the Sylheti dialect, the rest being Bihari people, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Dimasa Kachari (Barman), Manipuri (Meitei), Marwaris, Assamese and some tribal groups like Nagas. Silchar is situated by the banks of the Barak River in what is popularly known as Barak Valley. Rice is the staple cereal. Fish is also widely consumed. Shuţki (the local name for dried fish), shidal chutney and chunga-r peetha are some of the local delicacies.

Etymology

During the British rule, ships were docked at the bank of the river Barak. Gradually, a market developed at the bank and became a major place of economic activity. The bank was covered with stones to help dock ships and vessels, and the market was developed at a place that was fully covered with stones. People started to refer to the place as Shiler Chor, meaning "a bank of stones". With the passage of time, Shiler Chor was simplified to Silchar, and ultimately the British officials started to use the name Silchar in their official documents referring to the surrounding area of the market. Thus Silchar became the official name of the place.[4]

History

Cachar district records

In the 1850s, British tea planters re-discovered the game polo in Manipur on the Burmese border with India. The first polo club in the world was formed at Silchar.[citation needed] The first competitive modern form of polo was played in Silchar, the plaque for this feat still stands behind the District Library, Silchar.[citation needed]

Railway link

The Assam Bengal Railway brought Silchar into the Indian railway map in 1899. The railway line from Lumding to Silchar is hailed as one of the most exciting pristine railway tracks of India. Built by the British during the colonial rule, the meter gauge line stands testimony to the grandiose of what was once a highly popular city in the North-East is now converted to Broad Gauge.But in nov 2015 a new railway track broad gauge introduce by replacing meter gauge between silchar to guwahati.

Language martyrs

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Main article: Bengali Language Movement (Barak Valley)
Silchar Railway Station is described as Bhasa Shahid Station

Silchar saw one of the uprisings in favour of the Bengali language. When the Assam government, under Chief Minister Bimala Prasad Chaliha, passed a circular to make Assamese mandatory, Bengalis of Barak Valley protested. On 19 May 1961, when Assam police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar Railway Station, 11 agitators died. After the popular revolt, the Assam government had to withdraw the circular and Bengali was ultimately given official status in the three districts of Barak Valley.[5][6]

Economy

Gol Dighi Mall, a shopping complex

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Over the past few years, the town has seen an influx of people from nearby States and places due to the Silchar's increasing prospects[dubious – discuss] and other developments in the field of education[dubious – discuss], medical facilities etc. making the town quite over-crowded.

Industries

  • ONGC has its base at silchar located in SRIKONA known as CACHAR FORWARD BASE with ongoing operations in Tripura, Mizoram and Barak Valley.[7]
  • MEGA IOC DEPOT: The Indian Oil Corporation has resolved to set up a mega storage depot at Silchar.

According to official sources at the IOC, the new depot can store up to 30,000 kilo litres of petroleum. "Once the depot comes up, there will be no dearth of petroleum products not only for Barak Valley, but this will be a buffer stock for export even to the ASEAN nations," the source claimed.Cachar district administration say the land acquisition process is also wrapped up and the IOC is waiting for the mandatory environmental clearance.[8]

  • CACHAR PAPER MILL: It's a unit of Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (A Govt. Of India Enterprises).It is located in Panchgram. The distance is 26 km from Silchar. The mill has the capacity to install 1 lakh MT production.The Industry produces a fine quality paper from bamboo.Many people from Silchar are working in paper mill.
  • Assam Industrial Development Corporation Complex at Malinibeel Silchar is a hub for micro small scale units in Silchar.It houses units like manufacturing of Industrial gas,manufacturing of HDPE products,Biscuit factory,lime factory and many more Small scale units are coming up.
  • Bisleri Botteling Plant is located near NIT-Silchar.

Geography

Silchar is located in the southern part of Assam.[9][10] Situated on the banks of the Barak River, it is a trade and processing centre for tea, rice and other agricultural products. There is limited industry, principally papermaking and tea-box manufacturing. The city has an airport and is connecting to Guwahati, Agartala, Imphal, and Aizawl. Silchar is regarded as an important road junction of the North Eastern India and serves as a major point of connection for Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram.

The area of Silchar town is 15.75 km2. It has an average elevation of 22 meters (72 feet).

Demographics

As of 2011 India census, Silchar had a population of 178,865.[11] Total number of males were 89,961 and females 88,904. The sex ratio of Silchar was 988 females per 1000 males, which is above the national ratio of 940 females per 1000 males. Silchar has an average literacy rate of 91.74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, with male literacy of 93.97% and female literacy at 89.50%. Major religions followed are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Jainism. There are also a small community of Sikhs residing in the town.

Climate

At Silchar, the climate is tropical by nature. The wind generally blows from the northeast in the morning and from the southeast in the afternoon. Summer is hot, humid and interspersed with heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. Winter generally starts towards the end of November and lasts till February. Towards the start of the Bengali month of Baishakh (mid-April) rain clouds start covering the skyline. Silchar is inundated frequently due to excessive rainfall and floods by the River Barak. In the last three decades, Silchar and the Barak Valley have been ravaged by four major floods - one in 1986, followed by the ones in 1991, 2004 and 2007.

Climate data for Silchar (1971–2000)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 31.0
(87.8)		 35.0
(95)		 37.8
(100)		 39.4
(102.9)		 39.1
(102.4)		 37.9
(100.2)		 39.4
(102.9)		 39.0
(102.2)		 38.3
(100.9)		 36.7
(98.1)		 35.0
(95)		 31.7
(89.1)		 39.4
(102.9)
Average high °C (°F) 24.5
(76.1)		 26.4
(79.5)		 29.6
(85.3)		 30.5
(86.9)		 31.0
(87.8)		 31.5
(88.7)		 31.4
(88.5)		 31.9
(89.4)		 31.5
(88.7)		 30.9
(87.6)		 29.1
(84.4)		 26.1
(79)		 29.6
(85.3)
Average low °C (°F) 12.1
(53.8)		 14.1
(57.4)		 17.7
(63.9)		 21.0
(69.8)		 23.0
(73.4)		 24.6
(76.3)		 25.1
(77.2)		 25.2
(77.4)		 24.6
(76.3)		 22.9
(73.2)		 18.6
(65.5)		 13.9
(57)		 20.4
(68.7)
Record low °C (°F) 5.6
(42.1)		 5.0
(41)		 8.3
(46.9)		 13.2
(55.8)		 15.6
(60.1)		 19.3
(66.7)		 19.0
(66.2)		 19.4
(66.9)		 16.8
(62.2)		 14.4
(57.9)		 10.6
(51.1)		 6.1
(43)		 5.0
(41)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 12.1
(0.476)		 44.2
(1.74)		 229.3
(9.028)		 258.1
(10.161)		 460.7
(18.138)		 612.0
(24.094)		 503.2
(19.811)		 427.7
(16.839)		 366.5
(14.429)		 168.7
(6.642)		 33.3
(1.311)		 12.8
(0.504)		 3,128.6
(123.173)
Average rainy days 1.0 3.9 8.5 12.6 16.2 21.5 22.5 19.3 15.5 7.7 2.4 0.6 131.6
Source: India Meteorological Department (record high and low up to 2010)[12][13]

Satellite Townships

The rapidly expanding population of silchar has made it necessary to expand in all directions and small townships. Already two townships are coming up rapidly

  1. Sun-City[14] located at Meherpur
  2. Devas [15] located at Tarapur

Schools

The schools of Silchar are run by the state government and private organisations. Bengali and English are the primary languages of instruction; Assamese and Hindi are also used. The schools are affiliated to either Secondary Board of Education, Assam (SEBA) or the CBSE. Prominent schools of Silchar include:-

  • Sarala Birla Gayan Jyoti
  • Silchar Collegiate School
  • Holy Cross Higher Secondary School
  • Ramanuj Vidyamandir
  • Vivekananda Kendriya Vidyalaya
  • Adhar Chand Higher Secondary School
  • Don Bosco Higher Secondary School
  • Pranabananda Holy Child School
  • Sarla Birla Gyan Jyoti School
  • Cachar High School
  • Muktashree High School
  • South Point School
  • Narsing Higher Secondary School
  • Govt. Boys Higher Secondary School
  • Govt. Girls Higher Secondary School
  • DNNK Girls High School
  • Saint Capitano High School
  • Chhotelal Seth High School
  • Public High School
  • Maharishi Vidya Mandir Higher Secondary School
  • Kendriya Vidyalayas- Silchar city
  • K.V Kumbhirgram (AAI and IAF base)
  • K.V Srikona (ONGC Base)
  • K.V Masimpur (INDIAN ARMY Cantonment)
  • K.V NIT-Silchar
  • K.V Assam University, Silchar (Upcoming)
  • Oriental High School
  • Tarun Ram Phukan Assamese High School
  • Shyama Charan Deb Vidyapith, Tarapur
  • Normal School

Central University-- Assam University, Silchar

Silchar is home to the main campus of Assam University, a central university, which imparts education in both the general as well as professional streams. The university, which came into existence in 1994, has 16 schools and 35 post-graduate departments under them. The university has 56 affiliated colleges under it.[16][17] The colleges in Silchar are mostly affiliated with the Assam university.

Engineering Colleges and Technical Institutions

  • National Institute of Technology, Silchar now a Deemed University is one of the oldest engineering colleges in the region and an Institute of National Importance.
  • Triguna Sen School of Technology, Assam University, Silchar[18] offers B.Tech and M.Tech Programmes in various disciplines
    Triguna Sen School of Technology
  • Silchar Polytechnic is an institute that offers diploma in all major engineering courses[19]
  • Industrial Training Center (ITI) is located at Srikona, 6 km from silchar city.
  • ARIIT (Assam Rifles Institute of Information Technology) located at Jail Road[8]
  • C-DAC has a Centre of High-End computing and Research situated inside NIT-Silchar campus.[20]
  • C-DAC is opening up its 2nd Centre for High Speed Computing in the Computer Science Department of Assam University, Silchar
  • NIELIT (National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology) Silchar EC is located in 1st floor of Silchar ISBT (Inter State Bus Terminus)[21]
  • NIAIMT is one of its kind center in India as well as in North East. NIAIMT has two campuses.[22]
File:NATIONAL HILL DRIVING silchar.JPG
NIAIMT at Dolchera, Silchar
  1. Dholchera Campus (45 km from Silchar airport, 11 km from National Highway) and the
  2. Jaffirbond campus (18 km from Silchar airport, beside East-west corridor).

Dholchera campus is spread over 65 acres of land and the Jaffirbond campus covers 20 acres. NIAIMT is one of the significant imitative by Government of India under NATRiP for entire northeast area to implement modern infrastructure and facilities aiming to develop skills to handle the latest automobiles by providing training to the youths. This center has also created infrastructure to test in-use vehicle by applying latest technologies, thus making the roads safer.

Colleges

Medical College

B.Ed and Law colleges

Silchar also has:

  • B.Ed College, at N.S. AVENUE
  • A.K. ChandaLaw College[25] at Tarapur.

Malls, Shopping complexes and Multiplexes

Silchar has a number of malls and shopping complexes such as:

  1. Goldighi Mall
  2. Big Bizzar is located at Prem-tala area of silchar.[26]
  3. Metro Bazar located at Club-Road is a favourite place for shoppers
  4. Vishal mega-mart located at Central Road also provides a range of products
  5. Entertainment plaza houses a bowling alley, restaurant
  6. Imperial Mall is an upcoming mall at club road silchar
  7. Ellora Super Market is a hub for trendy and foreign goods
  8. Nahata-Mart located at Najir-Patty is a family shopping mart
  9. Gold Digital Cinema is located at Entertainment Plaza
  10. Eylex - A 2 Screen Multiplex is coming up at Goldighi Shopping mall.
  11. City-Life - A G+3 shopping complex is located at Prem-Tala
City life, silchar

Hospitals and Nursing homes

Silchar has a number of good hospitals and nursing homes, some of them are as follows:

  • Silchar Medical College and Hospital [27]
  • Silchar Civil Hospital [28]
  • Green View Nursing Home
  • KEE-CEE Nursing Home
  • Sudipta Nursing Home
  • South City Nursing Home
  • Life line Nursing Home
  • Night Angle Nursing Home
  • Medinova Nursing Home
  • Valley View Nursing home
  • A 10 storie Multi- Speciality Nursing Home is coming up near the satellite town ship of Sun-City
  • Mediland Hospital and Research Centre
  • Lions Eye Hospital
  • Sundari Mohan Seva Bhavan
  • Silchar RED-CROSS
  • Sun-Lit Hospital
  • Nari-Shikhsha Hospital

Connectivity

Silchar is connected by road, railways and air to the rest of the country.

Railways

Silchar Railway station falls under the jurisdiction of the North East Frontier Railway zone of the Indian Railways. The railway gauge functioned here is Indian Gauge. The railway station is situated in Tarapur, Silchar.

The Indian Gauge conversion which includes the reconstruction of the railway station has been started from 1 October 2014 onwards as a part of the Lumding - Badarpur - Silchar railway section of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone of the Indian Railways.

File:Silchar Railway station.jpg
Platform 1 2 and 3 of Silchar Station
  • The project is completed and opened for goods train.
  • The date of opening goods train service was 27 March 2015.
  • The CRS inspection and HIGH SPEED trials was successfully held as on 22–24 June 2015 and the starting of regular passenger trains are to be started by 1st week of August.

Roadways

Regular bus services connect Silchar with Guwahati, Shillong, Aizawl, Agartala and Imphal through NH 37 and NH 53. However, during the rainy seasons, heavy downpour affects the Silchar-Shillong-Guwahati route causing frequent landslides which affects the road transportation. There is an Inter State Bus and an Inter State Truck Terminus which was constructed in the year 2005. The under construction four lane East - West corridor will connect Silchar in the east with Saurashtra in the west.

9W 2881/2882

Airway

Air connectivity Silchar (IXS) is located at Kumbhirgram, about 22 km from Silchar and there are regular flights connecting Silchar with Kolkata, Guwahati& Tezpur. The airport is being modernised and is considered the fourth-busiest in north eastern India after Guwahati, Imphal and Agartala in terms of flight movements.[29] Silchar has been selected as one of the towns for the construction of 51 low cost airports across the country recently.[30]

AI 9737
AI753/754

In December 1985, Air India operated the first all-woman crew flight in the world from Kolkata to Silchar which was commanded by Captain Saudamini Deshmukh on a Fokker F-27 Friendship aircraft.[31]

In the Summer Schedule-2015(till 25 October), Silchar (IXS) is being served by the following flights :

  • Air India AI753/754 Kolkata- Silchar-kolkata (4 Days/ week)[32]
  • Air India Regional AI 9737 Kolkata-Silchar-Kolkata (3 Days/ Week) [32]
  • Air India Regional AI 9738 Silchar-Tezpur-Silchar (3 Days/ Week) [33]
  • Jet Airways 9W 2875/2876 kolkata-Silchar-Kolkata (Daily)[34]
  • Jet Airways 9W 2881/2882 Kolkata-Silchar-Kolkata (Daily) [34]
  • Jet Airways 9W 2878/2877 Silchar-Guwahati-Silchar (Daily) [34]
  • Jet Airways 9W 2880/2879 Silchar-Guwahati-Silchar (Daily) [34]

Silchar(IXS) airport has the following features:

  1. ILS (Instrumental Landing system) CAT-I system.
  2. 7500 feet runway, capable of handling up to Airbus 321/ Boeing 737-800 type crafts
  3. PAPI lights
  4. Night Landing Facility
  5. Apron big enough to handle three A321/B737 crafts or 5 ATR-72 type crafts

Politics

Silchar is part of the Silchar (Lok Sabha constituency). The current member of Parliament from Silchar is Sushmita Dev who is the youngest daughter of the veteran politician Santosh Mohan Dev of the Indian National Congress.[35]

Sports facilities

Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium,Silchar

Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium is the only multipurpose stadium located at Silchar. The stadium has hosted an international one day match between the Indian and the England women's teams. It has also hosted Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy matches. Among the major football competitions, Santosh Trophy and I-League 2nd Division matches have been hosted at the ground.

Silchar-DSA-Stadium-By-san

Silchar also has an Indoor Stadium which is also used mainly for indoor sports.

Tennis court at Tennis Club Silchar

The Tennis Club, Silchar is the only facility for hosting tennis matches and has multiple synthetic courts. The club also has an academy for imparting training.

Media

Silchar has an All India Radio station known as Akashvani Silchar. It broadcasts on AM and FM frequencies. Silchar also has a terrestrial television transmission center and studio of India's national broadcaster Doordarshan, known as DD Silchar.

In the print media, a number of Bengali and English daily newspapers are published from the town. The major newspapers published from Silchar include Bengali dailies Dainik Jugasankha, Anandabazar Patrika, Dainik Abichar, Dainik Prantajyoti, Samayik Prasanga, Janakantha and the English dailies The Sentinel and Eastern Chronicle. Besides the local newspapers, national and regional dailies like The Telegraph, The Times of India, The Statesman, The Assam Tribune etc. are also available.

Tourist attractions

Ruins of the Kachari Kingdom, Khaspur.
  • Khaspur: 20 km from Silchar stands the ruin of a great Dimasa kingdom, capital of historical time and importance. Khaspur was the capital of the Dimasa Kachari Kings and its construction was completed in 1690 AD. The main attractions are the Lion Gate, the Sun Gate and age-old kings temple. The original palace is non-existent, but its subsidiaries, the main entrance gate, the Suryadwar, Debalaya are intact. The entrances are of elephant-patterns.
  • Bhuban Temple is the most celebrated temple of Lord Shiva in the entire South Assam. The Bhubaneshwar temple is about 50 km from Silchar and is on the top the Bhuvan hill. This is a place of pilgrimage and during the festival of Shivaratri, thousand of Shivayats march towards the hilltop to worship Lord Shiva. This temple by its geography attracts a lot of hikers as there are no motor roads to reach the hilltop. One has to hike at least 17 km from the plains to the temple.
  • Iskcon Temple is an important temple dedicated mainly to Lord Krishna. The temple is in Ambikapatty, Silchar. It was built and is being operated by the world famous Sanatan Dharmic spiritual organization ISKCON. There is a vegetarian restaurant operated nearby by the organization ISKCON.
  • Kancha Kanti Kali Temple: 11 km from Silchar stands the historical and most celebrated temple of South Assam, i.e., the temple of Mother Goddess "Kachakanti". She is said to be amalgamation of two powerful Hindu deities: mother Durga and mother Kali. The original temple was built in 1806 AD by the Kachari king. Human sacrifices were offered to the Goddess till 1818 AD. The old temple is ruined now and has been replaced by new temple which was built in 1978.
  • Gandhibag is in Park Road, at the center of the town. The park is named after Mahatma Ganadhi. There is a Shahid Minar in the park dedicated to the language martyrs who sacrificed their lives on 19 May 1962 fighting for the protection of the Bengali language against the Government of Assam.
  • Maniharan Tunnel is a popular pilgrim spot about 5 km from Bhubaneswar temple. As per mythology, this tunnel was once used by Lord Krishna. The holy River Tribeni flows beneath this tunnel. Maniharan temple, dedicated to Lord Krishna, is on the premises.

Notable people

Gallery

  • View of the ceiling from inside Goldighi Mall

  • Silchar Airport, August 2007, on a rainy day with 1000m visibility

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ http://www.flightradar24.com
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jan1015/state052
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ http://www.devascreations.in/index.html
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ http://silcharpolytechnic.in/
  20. ↑ http://cdac.in/index.aspx?id=pk_itn_spot919
  21. ↑ http://www.guwahati.nielit.gov.in/aboutsec.php
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ http://www.dheassam.gov.in/circulars-1/meeting%2057.pdf retrieved on 14th January, 2015
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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