| Dihing River Burhi Dihing River | |
|---|---|
 Dihing river at Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh | |
Location in Assam, India Show map of AssamDihing River (India) Show map of India | |
| Location | |
| Country | India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Patkai Hills |
| • elevation | 2,375 m (7,792 ft)2 |
| Mouth | Brahmaputra River |
• coordinates | 27°14′0″N 94°42′0″E / 27.23333°N 94.70000°E / 27.23333; 94.700001 |
| Length | 380 km (240 mi)2 |
Basin size | 6,000 km2 (2,300 sq mi)2 |
The Dihing3 or Burhi Dihing (Dihong = wide river) is a large tributary, about 380 kilometres (240 mi) long,2 of the Brahmaputra River in Upper Assam in northeastern India. The river originates at 2,375 metres (7,792 ft) above sea level in the Eastern Himalayas (the Patkai Hills)2 in Arunachal Pradesh and flows through Tinsukia and Dibrugarh Districts in Assam to its confluence with the Brahmaputra at Dihingmukh. Its watershed covers about 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 mi2).2 The Dihing has created a number of oxbow lakes in the area.
Namdapha River is a tributary of the Dihing on its northern bank. Disang River is a tributary of the Dihing in its southern bank. The Jeypore-Dihing Rainforest, Namdapha National Park, numerous petroleum fields, wet-paddy fields, bamboo orchards and tea gardens provide a unique landscape along its course. Ledo, Margherita, Digboi, Duliajan and Naharkatia (Nahorkotiya) are the small towns in its valley. Dihing is one of the largest contributors to the Brahmaputra River. The plains of the Dihing Valley has a rich variety of flora and fauna. The Betel nuts are produced most in the areas of the Dihing Plains.3
History
According to historical as well as geographical records, the Dihing once flowed through entire Upper Assam and met the Brahmaputra at Mahuramukh (or Lakhau) both in Bokakhat45.
According to Sarma(2007), about 250 years ago, the Dihing flowed westerly through Sibsagar district to meet the Brahmaputra at the extreme western point of Majuli island, which is now nearly 200 km west of present Dihingmukh, i.e. the outfall of the Burhi Dihing 6. Gait(1926) mentions the same noting that at that time the Dihing is believed to have flowed into the Brahmaputra further east than the Buri Dihing does now and the rivers Disang, Dikhou, Disai, Dhansiri were all tributaries to the Dihing. The river later dried out during the 17th century (as mentioned in Buranjis) and changed course to join the Brahmaputra at Dihingmukh.7
At that time the Dikhou River had an independent route and flowed as Kolong and joined the Brahmaputra at Kajalimukh in Nagaon district.89
Bridges and crossings
- Rail bridge of chain age 41.480 kilometers situated at Kutuha Kachari Village of length 288.20 meter and width 6.30 meters.
- RCC bridge of chain age 41.610 kilometers situated at Kutuha Kachari Village of length 236.30 meter and width 8.18 meters.
- Rail bridge of chain age 54.586 kilometers situated at Kowar Kharoni Village of length 504.20 meter and width 8.50 meters.
- Steel bridge of chain age 102.625 kilometers situated at Cheerika Beel Village of length 616.6 meter and width 3.13 meters.
- RCC bridge of chain age 108.730 kilometers situated at Kowar Kharoni Village of length 273.93 meter and width 8.25 meters.
- Rail bridge of chain age 109.136 kilometers situated at Kowar Kharoni Village of length 339.30 meter and width 5.89 meters.
References
References
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. "Burhi Dihing River". Geographical Names. ITA. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- Sarma, Jogendra N.; Basumallik, Sudhir (1986). "Channel Form and Process of the Burhi Dihing River, India". Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography. 68 (4): 373–81. doi:10.2307/521528. JSTOR 521528.
- Ehtesham, Ansari. "Dihing River - Tributaries Maps Bridges History". Rivers Of India.
- Wilcox, R. (1832). "Memoir of a Survey of Asam and the Neighbouring Countries, Executed in 1825-6-7-8" (PDF). Asiatic Researches. 17: 320. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
...the Dihing did not disembogue itself where it does now into the Brahmaputra, but turning to the south-east received the Disang, and Dikko, the Jazi, and Disai river, and was discharged into the great river near Mahura.
- Gait, Edward,"History of Assam(1926)", p.133, "Lakhau lies at what was then the confluence of the Dihing and the Brahmaputra. At the period in question, the latter river flowed down the course of what is now called the Lohit river, along the north of the Majuli island, while the Dihing followed the present channel of the Brahmaputra to the south of it, and, after receiving the waters of the Disang and the Dikhu, united with the Brahmaputra at its western extremity. At a still earlier period the Dihing is believed to have flowed into the Brahmaputra further east than the Buri Dihing does now."
- Sarma, Jogendranath, Change of river channel and bank erosion of the burhi dihing river (Assam), assessed using remote sensing data and gis,"But about 250 years ago the Dihing (present Burhi Dihing) flowed westerly through Sibsagar district to meet the Brahmaputra at the extreme western point of Majuli island, which is now nearly 200 km west of present Dihingmukh, i.e. the outfall of the Burhi Dihing"p.95
- Gait, Edward,"History of Assam(1926)", p.133,"..while the Dihing followed the present channel of the Brahmaputra to the south of it, and, after receiving the waters of the Disang and the Dikhu, united with the Brahmaputra at its western extremity. At a still earlier period the Dihing is believed to have flowed into the Brahmaputra further east than the Buri Dihing does now."
- Prakash, Col. Ved (2007). Encyclopedia of Northeast India Volume 1. Atlantic Publishers. p. 98. ISBN 978-81-269-0703-8.
- Gait, Edward,"History of Assam(1926)", p.133,"..At that time, according to native traditions, the Dikhu had an independent course as far as Kajalimukh, part of which still survives in the Majuli as the Tuni river, and part in Nowgong, as the Kallang."