guwahati


Guwahati is a major city in eastern India, often considered as the

gateway to the North-East Region (NER) of the country and is the

largest city within the region. Dispur, the capital of the Indian state

of Assam is situated within the city. Guwahati is one of the most

rapidly growing cities in India. During past few decades it has

experienced unprecedented spatial expansion and also steep rise in

population. In fact according to a survey done by a UK media, Guwahati

is among the first 100 fastest growing city of the world and is 5th

fastest growing among Indian cities. Today, the city straddles between

the LGB International Airport in the west to Narengi in the east for

almost 45 kilometres and between the southern bank of the Brahmaputra

river and the foothills of the Shillong plateau for around 15

kilometres. Moreover, the city is also getting gradually expanded to

the northern bank of Brahmaputra. Guwahati with population just 0.2

million in 1971 is a million plus city today. Guwahati Municipal

Corporation (GMC), the city's local government covers an area of 216

km², while Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), the

planning and development authority covers an area of 340 km².

It is a major commercial and educational center of eastern India and is

home to world class institutions such as the Indian Institute of

Technology Guwahati. The city is also a major center for cultural

activities and sports in the North Eastern Region and for the

administrative and political activities in Assam. The city is also an

important hub for transportation in the North East Region.

Traditionally, Guwahati has been an important administrative and

trading center and a river port. The name Guwahati is derived from two

Assamese words: 'guwa' (areca nut) and 'haat' (market place). The name

used to be spelled as Gowhatty (pre-colonial and colonial),

standardized to Gauhati (colonial-British), which was then changed to

the present form in the late 1980s to conform to the local

pronunciation