Guwahati
Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...
of
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
, a state on the north-east of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Densely populated, Hengrabari resembles the character of a small town in the heart of Guwahati. A few decades ago the areas around Hengrabari were covered with dense forest, tall trees and wild bushes. However, with the pressure of increase in population, these forests were burned and cleared, the hillocks were cut down and the plain agricultural land were filled up for building houses and commercial shops.
Etymology
Hengrabari is
Boro
BORO (Business Objects Reference Ontology) is an approach to developing ontological or semantic models for large complex operational applications that consists of a top ontology as well as a process for constructing the ontology. It was originally ...
origin. Hengra means barrier and Bari means forest or village.
Description
Hengrabari has now been divided into two parts, lower hengrabari and upper hengrabari. Borbari which borders upper hengrabari are populated by the indigenous tribal people. With the construction of a national highway road passing through upper hengrabari and borbari, the area has been emerging as a commercial hub.
Thamakitilla is a small hillock on the southern side of the areas bordering upper hengrabari. This hillock is densely populated and consisted of around seventy residential houses. A vernacular high school and a college is situated to the south of Thamakitilla. To the eastern side of Thamakitilla is a low-lying paddy fields. In the rainy season these low-lying paddy fields remain submerged with rain water, limiting cultivators to grow paddy only on a part of the considerably elevated land.
Culture
An old mythological story runs that the present elevated land Thamakitilla was the divine place where Gods and goddesses were used to halt during their journey. People believe that there exist a divine boat made of stone on the eastern side of Thamakitilla that touches the low-lying paddy fields. On the north-eastern part of the hillock, there is a temple of Goddess Mata Vaishno Devi. It is believed that this place has been a favourite destination of the supreme divine.
A temple also exist on the top of the hillock and people gather there for prayer on various occasions. This temple belongs to the Hindu God,
Lord Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism.
Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer' ...
, the protector of living beings. (inputs from Bharat Prasad, shall provide more..).
A very famous Kali temple is also present in the area which also consist of the temple of lord Shiva, the Sani temple and the Ganesh temple. The temple is said to have a great historical significance and was established during the time when the place was ruled by the Rani or the Queen of Beltola. The main structure of the temple was constructed in the late 1970s and its development is further going on with the help various donations received from the people. The temple celebrates various festivals like the Shivaratri, Ganesh Puja and the Kali Puja being the most significant. During Kali Puja many devotees throng the temple from different parts of the city as well the state to take blessings of Goddess Kali. Apart from these an annual ritual known as "Jagya" in the local language is also performed for the well being of the people belonging to the locality.
There are several Reserved Forests (
Indian Forest Act, 1927
The Indian Forest Act, 1927 was largely based on previous Indian Forest Acts implemented under the British Raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the ...
) in and around Guwahati. The reserved forests within the limits of
Guwahati Municipal Corporation
Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) is the local government in Guwahati, Assam, India. GMC was formed in the year 1971 by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation Act, 1969. The corporation was duly constituted in 1974 in the first meeting of the el ...
Jalukbari
Jalukbari is a locality in Guwahati, Assam, India, located between National Highway 31 (India), National Highway 31 and National Highway 37 (India), National Highway 37.
Education
Gauhati University, Assam Engineering College, Assam Science ...
. These forests are under the administrative control of the Divisional Forest Officer, Kamrup (East) Forest Division. The other reserved forests around Guwahati are Rani and Garbhanga RFs. Deepar Beel, which is a vast expanse of water body on the western side of the city is not only a
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
Wildlife Sanctuary
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...
. The forests act as the green lung of Guwahati, but, unfortunately, a large chunk of the area is encroached by unauthorized occupants.
The Rani and Garbhanga RFs have a large population of elephants. Sometimes, wild
elephant
Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...
s visit and damage the paddy crops around the Deepar Beel area. To control the menace, and streamline wildlife management in and around Guwahati, the
Government of Assam
The Government of Assam or Assam Government abbreviated as GoAS, is the Subnational legislature, state government of the Indian state of Assam. It consists of the Governors of states of India, Governor appointed by the President of India as th ...
constituted Guwahati Wildlife Division in early 2006.