342
DIBRUGARH .SUBDIVISION
increase was due partly to the natural growth of the indigenous inhabi-
tants, but chiefly to the importation of large numbers of coolies to
work on the tea plantations. In 1904 there were 130 gardens with
61,510 acres under plant, giving employment to 175 Europeans and
89,670 natives. The subdivision contains one town, DIBRUGARH
(population, 11,227), the head-quarters; and Boo villages. Round
Dibrugarh the country is well peopled, the density over considerable
areas exceeding 300 persons per square mile, but population falls off to-
wards the hills, where dense forest is found, 300 square miles of which
have been `reserved.' Dibrugarh is well supplied with means of com-
munication, as the Assam-Bengal Railway connects it with the sea at
Chittagong, and another railway conveys the coal of MARGHERITA and
the oil of DIGBO1 to the Brahmaputra. The rainfall at different places
in the subdivision varies from 95 to 112 inches in the year. The
assessment for land revenue and local rates in 1903-4 amounted to
Rs. 4,76,ooo.
Dibrugarh Town.-Head-quarters of the District of Lakhimpur,
Eastern Bengal and Assam, situated in 27° 28′ N. and 94° 55′ E., on
the left bank of the Dibru river, a little above its confluence with the
Brahmaputra, and on the trunk road. It is the terminus for steamers
coming up the Brahmaputra from Calcutta, and for the Dibru-Sadiya.
Railway which joins the Assam-Bengal Railway at Tinsukia. Population
(1901), 11,227.
Dibrugarh is one of the most desirable stations in the plains of Assam.
On a clear day there is a charming view of the hills with which it is
surrounded, and the heavy rainfall (112 inches) keeps the air cool with-
out rendering it oppressive. It is the head-quarters of the District staff,
of a battalion of military police, and of the Assam Valley Light Horse,
185 of whose members were resident in the District in 1904 ; while the
regular garrison consists of the wing of a Native infantry regiment. The
jail contains accommodation for 138 prisoners, who are employed chiefly
on oil-pressing and bamboo and cane-work. In addition to the usual
public buildings, there are a church, a hospital with 98 beds, and a fort
which was constructed at a time when the north-eastern frontier was still
in an unsettled state. Dibrugarh was constituted a municipality under
(Bengal) Act V of 1876 in 1878, and (Bengal) Act III of 1884 was
subsequently introduced in 1887. The municipal receipts and expendi-
ture during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 31,000. In
1903-4 the income was Rs. 51,000, the chief sources being a special
grant (Rs. 27,000) from Provincial revenues, taxes on houses and lands
(Rs.5,400), and conservancy and market fees (Rs.8,9oo) ; while the expen-
diture (Rs. 52,000) included conservancy (Rs. 14,8oo) and public works
(Rs. 13,7oo). The receipts and expenditure of the cantonment fund in
1903-4 were Rs. 2,6oo and Rs. 2,8oo respectively. The town is the com-
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