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Kamrup

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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a district of British India, in the Brahmaputra valley division of Eastern Bengal and Assam. The headquarters are at Gauhati. Area, 3858 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 589,187, showing a decrease of 7% in the decade. In the immediate neighbourhood of the Brahmaputra the land is low, and exposed to annual inundation. In this marshy tract reeds and canes flourish luxuriantly, and the only cultivation is that of rice. At a comparatively short distance from the river banks the ground begins to rise in undulating knolls towards the mountains of Bhutan on the north, and towards the Khasi hills on the south. The hills south of the Brahmaputra in some parts reach the height of Boo ft. The Brahmaputra, which divides the district into two nearly equal portions, is navigable by river steamers throughout the year, and receives several tributaries navigable by large native boats in the rainy season. The chief of these are the Manas, Chaul Khoya and Barnadi on the north, and the Kulsi and Dibru on the south bank. There is a government forest preserve in the district and also a plantation where seedlings of teak, sal, sissu, sum, and nahor are reared, and experiments are being made with the caoutchouc tree. The population is entirely rural, the only town with upwards of 5000 inhabitants being Gauhati (11,661). The temples of Hajo and Kamakhya attract many pilgrims from all quarters. The staple crop of the district is rice, of which there are three crops. The indigenous manufactures are confined to the weaving of silk and cotton cloths for home use, and to the making of brass cups and plates. The cultivation and manufacture of tea by European capital is not very prosperous. The chief exports are rice, oilseeds, timber and cotton; the imports are fine rice, salt, piece goods, sugar, betel-nuts, coco-nuts and hardware. A section of the Assam-Bengal railway starts from Gauhati, and a branch of the Eastern Bengal railway has recently been opened to the opposite bank of the river. A metalled road runs due south from Gauhati to Shillong.