Sonari (IPA: ˈsəʊnɑːrɪ) is a district Headquarter, mid-size town and a
municipal board
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
in newly announced
Charaideo
Charaideo or Che-Rai-Doi (Literally: ''the shining city on the hills'' in Ahom language) is a town in Charaideo district, Assam, India and was also the first capital of the Ahom kingdom established by the first Ahom king Chao Lung Siu-Ka-Pha ...
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
(by Chief Minister Mr.
Tarun Gogoi
Tarun Gogoi (11 October 1936 – 23 November 2020) was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Assam from 2001 to 2016. He was a member of the Indian National Congress and led the party to a record three consecutive electoral vi ...
on 15 August 2015) in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
.
Tourist Destinations
There are several unexplored destinations of tourism. For instance the mension of famous Assamese poet, lyricist and dramatist late
Parvati Prasad Baruah, the Sonari Shiva Temple, the Sonari Mosque, the town auditorium etc.
Geography
Sonari is located at . It has an average elevation of 97 metres (318 feet).
It is a major town on the nearly 500-year-old "
Dhodar Ali
The Dhodar Ali or Dhudor Ali ( as, ধোদৰ আলি, en, Lazy Man's Road or Sluggard's Road), is a 212-km-long road starting from Kamargaon in Golaghat to Joypur in Dibrugarh touching Mariani, Jorhat. It runs through four districts of Up ...
" built by the
Ahom Ahom may refer to:
*Ahom people, an ethnic community in Assam
* Ahom language, a language associated with the Ahom people
*Ahom religion, an ethnic folk religion of Tai-Ahom people
*Ahom alphabet, a script used to write the Ahom language
* Ahom kin ...
Kings. Dhodar ali was forcefully commissioned by Ahom king
Gadadhar Singha
Supaatpha also, Gadadhar Singha (reign 1681–1696) established the rule of the Tungkhungia clan of the Ahom kings that ruled the Ahom kingdom till its climactic end. He was the son of Gobar Roja, a descendant of Suhungmung, and who had becom ...
using the so-called lazy people or the socially unproductive 'Dhods' residing within Assam. Situated by the side of the Taokak river, Sonari is the headquarters of Charaideo District, Assam. The nearest railway station is Bhojo, which is about 3 km away located by the bank of historical Disang River. The best way to reach sonari by road is from Sivasagar town through the Dhodar Ali near which the famous royal mausoleum of the Ahom Kings at Charaideo is situated.
Sonari is a centre for tea and timber industries and is the gateway to the Mon district of Nagaland.
History
It is claimed that the original name of Sonari was Sonapur. It is also believed that Bhogoniya Raja Jayadwaj Singha rested for days in Sonari before proceeding to Namrup during the invasion of Assam and Ahom capital by
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
's general Mirjumlah during 1663. One of the first two tea estates set up by Maniram Dewan has now been discovered by Dr Pradip Baruah of the Tocklai Experimental Station of the Tea Research Association. Dewan established the Cinnamara TE at Jorhat and Senglung TE near Suffry, Sonari, around 169 years back, in 1845. Maniram Dewan was the first Indian commercial tea planter. In the middle of the town there is a park around a historic Ahom Kingdom's tank called Bor Pukhuri.
This park near the post office is now called Lachit Nagar park, since a full size statue of Assam's great general from Ahom period is erected here. Similarly a statue of Koch General Chilarai has been erected near Tawkak river bridge while entering the town. In 2004 during the birth centenary of Geetikavi Parvati Prasad Baruva a bust size white statue of this lyrical poet was inaugurated at Sonari.
Demographics
India
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, Sonari had a population of 17,430. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Sonari has an average literacy rate of 92%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79% and female literacy is 72%. In Sonari, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Languages
Sonari town have a population of 154,296 as per 2011 census.
Assamese is Spoken by
11,475 people,
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
at 3,797,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
at 1,934 and
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;[Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries](_blank)
, Oxford U ...
by 1,474 people.
[https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16T/DDW-C16-TOWN-STMT-MDDS-1800.XLSX ]
Importance
Sonari is one of the most important towns in eastern
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
. It is a commercial center for Charaideo District. There is a Sub-Divisional Court and an S.D.O. court at Rajadhap. There are several tea gardens around Sonari and a Gymkhana club golf course. Built sometime around 1945 this golf course was created by the tea planters. The golf course is 1.5 km away from the Sonari Gymkhana, and as a whole about 5 km away from the centre of Sonari Town . There are dramatic changes in elevation on this course which make it interesting. This course is part of the NAPUK tea estate. Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha, Sonari Branch is Affiliated to INTUC No. IV/2211 of 1959 and Registration no.445
In the Middle of the town there is a park around a historic Ahom Kingdom's tank called Bor Pukhuri.
There is a Daily Super market in the middle of the town. Produces from nearby villages like Mahmora, kakatibari are sold near this market.
There are many good educational institutions in the town, catering the needs of many nearby villages and tea-gardens. Some of them are: Sonari College, B.P.B.M. Higher Secondary School, P.K.B. Girls HS School, Sankardev Shishu Niketan, Sonari Town High School, Haji OMM school, St. Joseph's High School, Sonari Junior College, Chah Mazdoor Vidya Niketan, Sonari Commerce College, etc. Notably, B.P.B.M.H.S.School recently completed her Diamond Jubilee year and St. Joseph's High School completed her Silver Jubilee year. Sonari has Hindi school for many years now. There is a Sub-divisional public library near sonari college as well. there are religious places of worship like Sarbojanin Naam ghar, Gurudwara Sahib, Hari Mandir, Kali Mandir, Shiv Mandir, Shani Mandir, Mosque, Buddha Mandir, Hanuman mandir etc. giving a truly secular and cosmopolitan feeling.
In recent years a 100 bedded sub-divisional civil hospital has been created in the outskirt of the city with funds from the Government of Assam and the North-Eastern Council (N.E.C) with additional support from N.R.H.M. Project. The government of Assam received Rs.417.31 lakhs from the NorthEastern Council (NEC) for up-gradation of Sonari Civil Hospital. Some of the famous people from sonari are Lyrical-Poet "Geetikavi" Parvati Prasad Baruwa, Poet 'Kavita Konwar' Ambeswar Chetia Phukan etc. Parvati Prasad Baruwa(1904–1964) was a tea planter, poet, lyricist, dramatist: an icon of Assamese culture and literature.
Sonari town is located about 45 km from the historic town of Sivasagar and roughly located between Sivasagar and Namrup Town.
Bhojo
Bhojo is a village and a railway station in the Charaideo district of the Indian state of Assam.
References
Villages in Charaideo district
{{Assam-geo-stub ...
, the nearest railway station is well connected by major passenger trains like intercity. Distance from Dibrugarh Mohanbari Airport to Sonari is about 77 km.
The town has a police station of its own name right in the centre of the town. There is also a jail at the outskirts of the town. The Pin code of Sonari is 785690 and the STD code 03772.
Education
College
*
Sonari College
Sonari College, established in 1970, is a general degree college situated at Sonari, in Charaideo district, Assam. This college is affiliated with the Dibrugarh University. This College offers bachelor's degree courses in science and arts.
Dep ...
,
* Sonari Commerce College,
* Sonari Senior Secondary School
* Elite Academy,
* Sukafa Academy,
* Hajee Osimuddin Mission Academy,
*
Charaideo Medical College
Charaideo or Che-Rai-Doi (Literally: ''the shining city on the hills'' in Ahom language) is a town in Charaideo district, Assam, India and was also the first capital of the Ahom kingdom established by the first Ahom Dynasty, Ahom king Sukaphaa, ...
,
* Signor Academy
Schools
Sonari is known for its best eminent scholars. Sonari has good number of educational institutes. Schools provides education in both
Assamese and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
medium. Most of the school follows syllabus of
Secondary Education Board of Assam
The Board of Secondary Education, Assam commonly known as SEBA is the state education regulatory board under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Education, Government of Assam for conducting examinations and providing assurance for the quality of ...
, other follows
Central Board of Secondary Education
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...
(CBSE). For Higher Secondary (10+2) both schools follows syllabus of
Assam Higher Secondary Education Council
The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (abbreviated as AHSEC) is a Regulatory Agency, state education regulatory board under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Education (Assam), Ministry of Education, Government of Assam that is responsible ...
(AHSEC).
Transportation
Road
Sonari is well connected with
Sivasagar
Sivasagar (Pron: or ) ("the sea of Shiva"), is a city in and headquarters of the Sivasagar district, Assam. Sivasagar is situated about 360 kilometers (224 mi) northeast of Guwahati. It is well known for its Ahom palaces and monuments. S ...
,
Namrup
Namrup is a small town situated close to the foothills of the Patkai Hills in the extreme southeastern part of Assam, India. The river Dihing River, Dihing or Disang flows through it. Namrup is situated in amidst wet-paddy fields, indigenous A ...
,
Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam in ...
,
Mon District
Mon District (Pron:/mɒn/) is a district of Nagaland, a state in India. It is the third-largest district in Nagaland in terms of area. The district has a population of 250,260 people. Mon Town is the headquarters of the district.
History
Afte ...
of
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
by road. The historic
Dhodar Ali
The Dhodar Ali or Dhudor Ali ( as, ধোদৰ আলি, en, Lazy Man's Road or Sluggard's Road), is a 212-km-long road starting from Kamargaon in Golaghat to Joypur in Dibrugarh touching Mariani, Jorhat. It runs through four districts of Up ...
passes through the town connecting
Namrup
Namrup is a small town situated close to the foothills of the Patkai Hills in the extreme southeastern part of Assam, India. The river Dihing River, Dihing or Disang flows through it. Namrup is situated in amidst wet-paddy fields, indigenous A ...
towards
east
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
,
Simaluguri;
Nazira; Joysagar towards west.
Rail
Nearest
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
is
Bhojo
Bhojo is a village and a railway station in the Charaideo district of the Indian state of Assam.
References
Villages in Charaideo district
{{Assam-geo-stub ...
which is 6 km away from the town and easily approachable. To reach Bhojo railway station, there is an Auto (three wheeler) Stand near Bhojo ChariAli at Sonari Town. Nearest
junction
Junction may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film
* Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film
* Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille
* Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002
* Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
is Simaluguri Junction.
Air
Although Sonari lacks an airport,
Dibrugarh Airport
Dibrugarh Airport , is located at Mohanbari, which is situated at a distance of 15 km (9 mi) east from Dibrugarh, Assam, India. The airport covers an area of 386 acres. There are 2 aerobridges linked with the terminal. The runway of ...
(77 km) and
Jorhat Airport
Jorhat Airport , also known as Rowriah Airport is a domestic airport serving Jorhat, Assam, India. It is located at Rowriah, which is situated 7 kilometres south-west from the city centre.
History
It was established in early 1950s and commonly ...
(80 km) serve the town.
IndiGo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
and
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...
regularly fly to both the airports.
Transportation in town
Most of the places are easily communicable by walk and
bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
.
Rickshaw
A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also ...
and Electronic Rickshaw facilities are available within the town, there are also some tea estates near Sonari.
Politics
Sonari is part of
Jorhat (Lok Sabha constituency)
Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam state in north-eastern India.
Assembly segments
Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments:
Members of Parliament
Election re ...
.
The present MP is Mr.
Topon Kumar Gogoi from the
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
, who replaced
Bijoy Krishna Handique
Bijoy Krishna Handique (12 October 1934 – 26 July 2015) was an Indian politician who was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Jorhat constituency of Assam and was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) politic ...
(INC) who was the MP from 1991.
Nabanita Handique of BJP is the incumbent MLA from Sonari (Vidhan Sabha constituency). Sarat Borkataky, Bhadreswar Buragohain, Satya Tanti were some earlier MLAs.
Telecommunication
Sonari has
landline
A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...
,
mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ( ...
and internet connectivity. Internet connectivity through wireless
data cards and
Broadband
In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
is available. The major cellular service providers are
BSNL,
Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Currently, ...
,
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
,
Idea
In common usage and in philosophy, ideas are the results of thought. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophers have considered ideas to be a fundamental ontological category of being ...
,
Reliance and jio. 3G/4G services are available in the town.
Health care
Sonari is little underdeveloped regarding
health services. In spite of patient flow from nearby state
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
only a handful doctors are available for the service. Any serious cases are frequently referred to
Assam Medical College
Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH), formerly Berry White Medical School, is a public medical school and hospital in Dibrugarh, Assam, India. It was the first medical college in Assam and whole Northeastern India. It is the tertiary medi ...
,
Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam in ...
or
Jorhat Medical College and Hospital,
Jorhat
Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India.
Etymology
Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...
. A medical college is underconstruction that will be known as
Charaideo Medical College and hospital
Charaideo or Che-Rai-Doi (Literally: ''the shining city on the hills'' in Ahom language) is a town in Charaideo district, Assam, India and was also the first capital of the Ahom kingdom established by the first Ahom king Chao Lung Siu-Ka-Pha ...
, Sonari.
*
Civil Hospital
Dr. Ruth K. M. Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, commonly known as Civil Hospital Karachi, is a 1,900-bed tertiary care public hospital that imparts both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and training.
It is one of the teaching hospitals aff ...
, Rajapukhuri
*
Community Health Centre
A healthcare center, health center, or community health center is one of a network of clinics staffed by a group of general practitioners and nurses providing healthcare services to people in a certain area. Typical services covered are family pr ...
(CHC)
*Kanaklata Memorial Nursing Home
*
Charaideo Medical College
Charaideo or Che-Rai-Doi (Literally: ''the shining city on the hills'' in Ahom language) is a town in Charaideo district, Assam, India and was also the first capital of the Ahom kingdom established by the first Ahom Dynasty, Ahom king Sukaphaa, ...
References
External links
www.geetikavi.com*https://web.archive.org/web/20060504181808/http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S03/AS_ACPC.pdf
{{Assam
Cities and towns in Charaideo district
Charaideo district
Ahom kingdom