Moranhat

Moranhat মৰাণহাট
town
Moranhat Show map of Assam Moranhat Show map of India Location in Assam, India
Coordinates: 27°11′36″N 94°55′20″E / 27.193361°N 94.922132°E / 27.193361; 94.922132Coordinates: 27°11′36″N 94°55′20″E / 27.193361°N 94.922132°E / 27.193361; 94.922132
Country	India
State	Assam
District	Sibsagar
Government
• Body	Moranhat Town Committee
Population (2001)
• Total	5,779
Languages
• Official	Assamese
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	785670
Vehicle registration	AS

Moranhat (IPA: ˈmɔːrænˌhɑːt) is a town and a town area committee in Sibsagar district in the Indian state of Assam.

Demographics

Moranhat is a small and peaceful town located in the eastern part of Assam or Upper Assam. It derives its name from the Moran tribe. The town is surrounded by tea gardens, oil fields, and villages. As of 2001 India census,^[1] Moranhat had a population of 5779. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Moranhat has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 77%. Eleven per cent of the population in Moranhat is under 6 years of age. Predominantly a Hindu-dominated area, the town also comprises Muslims, Jains, Christians constitute the remaining population. Bengalis, Christians, Sikh, Bhojpuris, and Tamilians—who mostly come here on teaching assignments at the convent schools—are some of the major communities residing in this town. The primary occupation of the inhabitants of this town is teaching. Farming and small-scale businesses are also two of the important earning avenues for the people. Assamese is the main language spoken in Moranhat, followed by Bengali, Hindi, Bhojpuri, and Punjabi.

A unique geographical feature of Moranhat is its location between two districts—Sivasagar and Dibrugarh. The National Highway-37 passes through the heart of Moranhat. The National Highway acts as the divider, where one side falls under the Sivasagar jurisdiction and the other under the Dibrugarh district.

Education

On the education front, there are several Assamese and English medium convent schools as well as a large number of vernacular schools. The most popular and most reputed school is The St Joseph's High School, which is a host of brilliant students who are now placed across various reputed organisations/companies in India and abroad. The Moran Higher Secondary School is one of the major institutes in Moran boosting education in this locality. The St Andrews High School, Moranhat is also a reputed institute. The Moran Girls' High School, Moran College,^[2] and Moran Mahila Mahavidyalaya,^[3] Moran Junior College,^[4] Moran Commerce College^[5] are some of the other major institutes of Higher Education of the locality. The Nehru Hindi Vidyalaya is a Hindi-medium school.The nearest University is the Dibrugarh University.

Transport

Moranhat is well-connected to all the major places of Assam through private and state government bus services. The nearest railway station is Moranhat, and the nearest airport is Mohanbari Airport, which is around 40 km away from the town.The Moranhat Railway Station falls under the North East Frontier Railway and is becoming increasingly a busy railway station.^[6] Assam's capital city of Dispur is over 300 km (8–9 hrs bus journey) from the town.

There is an array of food outlets in Moranhat on the National Highway and are hence thronged by travelers on their visits to places like Dibrugarh and Tinsukia (along the extreme east). The nearest developed village to Moran is the renowned Khatkhati. It is a highly developed village of Assam.

References