Digboi
Digboi | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Digboi | |
 Digboi Centenary Museum | |
  Digboi Location in Assam, India  Digboi Digboi (India) | |
| Coordinates: 27°23′N 95°38′E / 27.38°N 95.63°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Assam |
| District | Tinsukia |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor Council Government under State Government |
| • Body | Digboi Municipality |
| Area | |
| • Total | 14.8 km2 (5.7 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 165 m (541 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 21,736 |
| • Density | 1,500/km2 (3,800/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Assamese |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 786171 |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-AS |
| Vehicle registration | AS-23 |
Digboi (IPA: ˈdɪgˌbɔɪ) is a town and a town area committee in Tinsukia district in the north-eastern part of the state of Assam, India
Crude oil was discovered here in late 19th century and first oil well was dug in 1866. Digboi is known as the Oil City of Assam where the first oil well in Asia was drilled. The first refinery was started here as early as 1901. Digboi has the oldest oil well in operation.[1] With a significant number of British professionals working for Assam Oil Company until the decade following independence of India, Digboi had a well-developed infrastructure and a number of bungalows unique to the town. It has eighteen holes golf course as part of the Digboi Club. It has guest houses and tourist residential apartments laid on Italian architectural plan to promote tourism in upper Assam.
Etymology[edit]
Barely seven years after Edwin L. Drake drilled the world's first oil well in 1859 at Titusville, Pennsylvania in the United States, history registered another exploration of the black liquid gold, in the largest continent. More than a century ago, history was made in a remote corner of Assam in the midst of the dense and malaria infested jungles, by a band of intrepid pioneers searching for black gold. In 1867 Italian Engineers, commissioned by the Assam Railways and Tradi Railways and Trading Company) accidentally discovered oil at Digboi around 10 miles from Margherita.
"'Dig boy, dig', shouted the Canadian engineer, Mr W L Lake, at his men as they watched elephants emerging out of the dense forest with oil stains on their feet".Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). It has an average elevation of 165 metres (541 ft).It is situated 510 km north east of Guwahati.
Demographics[edit]
As of 2011[update] India census,[2] Digboi has population of 21,736 individuals, of which 10,964 are males while 10,772 are females. Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 1745 which is 8.03% of total population of Digboi. Committee, Female Sex Ratio is of 982 against state average of 958. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Digboi is around 981 compared to Assam state average of 962. Literacy rate of Digboi city at 92.08% is higher than state average of 72.19%. In Digboi, Male literacy is around 95.09% while female literacy rate is 89.02%.
Digboi city has a population of 21,736 individuals as per the 2011 census. Bengali is spoken by ~12,135 individuals, Assamese is spoken by ~3,845 individuals, Hindi is spoken by ~3,440 individuals, and Nepali is spoken by ~1,381 individuals; the rest ~941 speak other languages.[3]
Digboi Oil Town was considered as a separate census town in 2011 India census.[2] The population is largely heterogeneous. Assamese, Bengali, Nepali, Bihari, Marwari communities form the majority. People from various tribes such as the tea-tribes (brought in by the colonial planters as indentured labourers from the Chhotanagpur plateau region), Bodos, Mishings etc. have also made it their home.
Culture & economy[edit]
As being a small part of the diverse state Assam. It is culturally diverse with Assamese, Bengali and Nepali culture and heritage. As being colonised by British and rising of industrial era the place have seen adverse changes. Workers, labourers were brought in. Digboi township accounted for diverse group of people that entered in search of livelihood. But the outskirts were still agriculture based. Assam being rich in fertility, tea is produced throughout the place bringing a bright opportunity to the people and the place itself. Yet small people here portrait the picture of the nation itself.
How to reach Digboi[edit]
The nearest airport is the Mohanbari Airport, Dibrugarh and the nearest railway junction is the Tinsukia Junction. One can get flight to Dibrugarh from Delhi and Kolkata on daily basis. Also Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani express runs daily from Dibrugarh via New Tinsukia Junction. There are also proper roadways which link the Digboi Oil town to some other towns like Duliajan, Makum etc. Digboi has got a railway station and it connects well with Guwahati. Digboi can be reached by public transport bus and mini-vans as well. Buses between Digboi and other neighbouring towns and Guwahati are run by various companies. Rickshaw is the main mode of transport within the city.
Education[edit]
Colleges[edit]
Places of interest[edit]
- Digboi Oil Centenary Museum
- Digboi War Cemetery
- Digboi 18 hole Golf Course
- Digboi Oil Field
- Digboi Centenary Park
- Digboi Bar
Politics[edit]
Digboi is part of Dibrugarh (Lok Sabha constituency) which is represented by Mr Rameswar Teli of Bharatiya Janata Party.It lies in the Digboi Constituency of the State Assembly where it is represented by Mr. Suren Phukan of Bharatiya Janata Party. [4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Assam Govt website". Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
- ^ a b "C-16 POPULATION BY MOTHER TONGUE" (XLDX). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ^ "List of Parliamentary & Assembly Constituencies". Assam. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
External links[edit]
- The Oil Town of Digboi Archived 30 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- Tinsukia District Homepage
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
