Bongaigaon district

Bongaigaon district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in northeastern India. The district headquarters are located at Bongaigaon. The district occupies an area of 2,510 km².HistoryThe district of Bongaigaon was created on 29 September 1989 from parts of Goalpara and Kokrajhar districts. 2004 saw a loss of size when part of the district was split to make Chirang district.GeographyBongaigaon district occupies an area of 1724km2, comparatively equivalent to Réunion. Bongaigaon district is surrounded by Barpeta in the east, the Brahmaputra in the south and Kokrajhar in the north and west corner.EconomyIn 2006 the Indian government named Bongaigaon one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the eleven districts in Assam currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).DivisionsThe district has three subdivisions: Bongaigaon, Bijni and North Salmara. In 2004, parts of the Bongaigaon district (mainly areas under Bijni subdivision) were given over to form the Chirang district, under the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), with its district headquarters at Kajalgaon.There are four Assam Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district: Bongaigaon, Bijni, Abhayapuri North, and Abhayapuri South. The latter is designated for scheduled castes. Bijni is in the Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency, whilst the other three are in the Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency.