
Cachar District is an administrative district of Assam with its headquarters at
Silchar. Cachar District covers a total area of 3786 sq km. The official language of this district is
Bengali language with majority of people residing in this district primarily speak Bengali language as well as Sylheti language. The district headquarters, Silchar is considered as one of the significant business centres of the state. Cachar District is bounded on the North by Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the South by
Mizoram, on the East by sister districts of Hailakandi and Karimganj. It is considered as one of the oldest districts of this state.
History of Cachar District
The name of the Cachar District was derived from the Kachari kingdom. Initially, Cachar district was a part of this kingdom that included the adjacent Karimganj and Hailakandi districts of Assam. The Cachar District is situated in the southern region of Assam. This district was formed in 1830 after the seizure of Kachari Kingdom by the British rulers. Further, in the year 1854, northern portion of Cachar was seized and tagged to the district. The former North Cachar sub-division was transformed into a separate district in 1951.
Geography of Cachar District
Geographically, Cachar District is not situated in an advantageous position but strategically, this district is considered as important. Cachar District is the gateway to the neighbouring state of Mizoram and also to the western parts of
Manipur and is principally surrounded by hills in all the three sides. Cachar District is located at a longitude of 92 degrees 24 minutes east and 93 degrees 15 minutes east and latitude of 24 degrees 22 minutes north and 25 degrees 8 minutes north.
Administration of Cachar District
The administrative set-up of Cachar District is headed by the Deputy Commissioner. He is assisted by a number of officers in the proper functioning of the administrative system of the district. The Deputy Commissioner is the overall in-charge and he is aided by the Additional Deputy Commissioners, Sub Divisional Officers (Sadar), Extra Assistant Commissioner and Magisterial Head Assistant. Cachar District has two sub-divisions which are - Silchar (Sadar) sub-division and Lakhipur sub-division.
How to Reach Cachar District
Cachar District is well connected by road with
Guwahati via Jowai
Shillong route. In fact, it is the only road link direct from Guwahati linking it with the rest of the world. The Jowai Badarpur road also connects Mizoram,
Tripura and some parts of Manipur. The Silchar
Imphal road connects Cachar with Manipur. The Silchar Haflong road connects
Haflong, Lumding and other parts of Assam.
The railway network touches important places of Barak Valley. The Lumding Badarpur section of the railways is the most vital link of Cachar, Mizoram and Tripura with the rest of the country. The line is built up through the hilly terrain of North Cachar Hills passing through 36 tunnels.
Cachar District has its own airport at Kumbhirgram which is near about 30 km away from Silchar town. It serves as the major communication link for the people of Cachar District. The Air Service operates flight services in several routes like Silchar-Imphal, Silchar-Kolkata and Silchar-Guwahati from this airport.
The Cachar District also has several recognized educational institutions and it also offers proper health care services to the people.
(Last Updated on : 5/03/2010)