Dibrugarh is the state’s most urbanized district where tea and oil industries have made the district known all over the country.  It figured no less prominently in Assam’s past history, particularly before and during the 6^th century reign of the Ahoms.

It is bounded on the north and northwest by the river Brahmaputra that forms the common boundary between Dhemji and Dibrugarh district, on the east by Tinsukia districts, on southeast by Arunachal Pradesh and on the south by Sibsagar district. The district has an area of 7170 sq. kms.

The district has a population of about 1.0 million (1991 census).  There are 908 females per 1000 males.  About 82.4% population live in rural areas, while 17.6% of the population lives in urban areas.  The SC and ST contribute about 4.0% and about 7.9% of the population respectively. The decennial growth rate of population between 1981-1991 was 37.20%.  Main language spoken in the district is Assamese.

The general physical aspect of Dibrugarh district is both varied and picturesque.  It is situated at the head of the Brahmaputra Valley bounded on the north and northwest by the Brahmaputra river.  The district, a broad plain, raises almost insdensibly to the foot of the hills, presenting a very diversified panorama.  To the south of the district, these hills are only a few thousand feet above the level of the sea, where as the hills on the eastern end of the valley are considerably higher and on a clear day a view of a continuous chain of snowy peaks can be seen.  The view is bounded on the north by bluest of the blue hills.  The sides of hills are covered with dense evergreen forests from the base to the snow line.  Creepers spread in every direction over the larger trees, knitting them into a great mass of foliage, and drop down here and there in coils and loops.  The forest is dense with bamboo, plantains, palms and huge tree farms.  The extensive plain of the district which is fairly high and fertile is covered with fields of waving rice which changes from vivid green luster into a rich gold as harvest time draws near or with stiff bushy tea bushes that spread over like a dark green carpet.  Villages are encircled by groves of slender palms, broad-leaved plantains, feathery bamboos and juicy fruit trees.

The forests are scattered all over the district but the most valuable forests are concentrated on the south and the east of the railway line from Naharkatiya to Saikhowaghat via. Tinsukia and Makum.  Large number of rivers and their tributaries, streams and “Jans” flows through the district and creates havoc by inundating vast areas during rainy season.  The whole of drainage of the district ultimately finds its way through these outlets into the Brahmaputra, which is an enormous river here.

The district at present comprises of one sub-division i.e. Dibrugarh, six circles and six Community Development Blocks.  The district has 1361 villages of which 1306 are inhabited villages and 55 are uninhabited villages. 

Dibrugarh district has 6 circles, 1 sub-division and 6 Community Development Blocks (Table-1).

Table 1. Administrative Units in District

Amenities available in the villages are shown in table 2.

Table 2. Villages having one or more amenities in the district (1991 census)

Dibrugarh, the district headquarter town, surrounded by tea gardens, is an important nerve centre of tea, coal and oil industries.  It is well served by road, rail and airways.  Nearest airport is Chabua.  Dibrugarh is an important railway station in Assam. Total road length in the district is 1247 kms.

Main crop of the district is paddy, which is sown three times in a year.  Other crops of the district are maize, wheat, tea, other cereals and small millets, pulses, oilseeds etc. The veterinary facilities are available in the district are; Hospitals 4, dispensaries 18, mobile dispensaries 3, block dispensaries 11, R.A.I. 4, stock centre 18.

The district consists of a wide alluvial plain composed of a mixture of sand and clay in varying proportions, and surrounded on two sides by hills. The district is very rich in mineral deposits and has huge deposits of coal.  Petroleum and ‘Natural Gas’ play an important role in the economy and industrial development of the district as well as the state.

The district of Dibrugarh is rich in natural wealth and has large deposits of crude oil, and coal.  Some of the important industries like petroleum, tea and plywood are also established in the district.  Large quantities of the produce are exported from the district to various other parts of the country and some even find place in the international markets.  Among these item tea is the most important commodity of export and earns a considerable amount of foreign exchange.

Crude oil is another principal commodity exported.  The crude oil is exported through a pipeline to the refineries at Guwahati and Barauni.  Petroleum and other products of Digboi refinery are exported to other districts of the State as well as to the neighboring States. Coal is another important commodity of export.  About 80-85 percent of coal in Assam comes from the Makum Coal fields of the district. 

Plywood is a very important commodity of export, and plays a significant role in the economy of the state.  Urea and Amonium sulphate produced in the Kamrup Fertilizer Factory also find their way into other parts of the country.  Besides these, the various other articles exported from the district are timber and timber products, cane and cane products.

There are 13 hospitals, 30 primary health centres, 16 dispensaries and three rural family welfare planning centres.  There are 1626 beds in the hospitals of the district. Major government medical institutions and health personnel working in these institutions are given in Table 3 and 4.

Table 3. Govt. and other institutions in Dibrugarh district.

Table 4. Health personnel working in Government sector in Dibrugarh district

Table 5.Composition of  Dibrugarh District RRT.

National Surveillance Programme for communicable Diseases

Dibrugarh district in Assam was included in the programme in year 2000 - 2001. The District Nodal Officer and the District Rapid Response Team has been identified.  District laboratory has been identified. The state RRT has been trained at NICD, Delhi in September. The training of the district RRT will be taken up shortly. Strengthening of the laboratory will be done as soon as the training of the district RRT is done by the State. Table 5 shows the list of the members of RRT in Dibrugarh district.

Microbiology Department, Assam Medical College has been identified as the district laboratory under NSPCD. Prof. A.K.Borthakur, a member of the district RRT will supervise the work.  Facilities for diagnosis of Cholera, Meningitis, Typhoid fever, Viral hepatitis and Water faecal  coliform count etc are currently available with the laboratory.  Laboratory data from January 2000 to March 2001 are given in Table 6.

Table 6. Some laboratory data from Microbiology department, Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, for the year 2000 – till date 2001