Class 12 Geography Chapter 23 Assam Geography The answer to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse throughout different chapters SCERT Class 12 Geography Chapter 23 Assam Geography and select need one.
Class 12 Geography Chapter 23 Assam Geography
Also, you can read the SCERT book online in these sections Solutions by Expert Teachers as per SCERT (CBSE) Book guidelines. These solutions are part of SCERT All Subject Solutions. Here we have given Assam Board/NCERT Class 12 Geography Chapter 23 Assam Geography Solutions for All Subject, You can practice these here…
AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY OF ASSAM
Q.1. Describe one of the causes of the poor agricultural system in Assam.
Ans :- It has been realised by all concerned that there is no alternative to mechanisation for agricultural growth at this moment. No field can be properly irrigated unless water is raised by electrically driven pumps or diesel generators. No pesticides can be applied properly to the plants except by means of manually or mechanically operated sprayers. Soil moisture cannot be conserved unless the soil is ploughed deep with iron made soil scratchers.
Thus, it is now commonly agreed that a farmer has to make use of modern implements and machines of some form in order to boost his agricultural output.
Machines are superior and efficient as compared to manual labour and drought power. In Assam, the strong attachment of the farmers to the wooden plough, an ancient soil scratcher, prevents him from using other means of ploughing. The wooden plough, however can be improved upon to increase its efficiency without much difficulty and expense.
Agriculture.e for further improvement, appliances which make it possible to reduce harvest losses and enable farmers to complete farm operation within a short span of time which may help them in intensifying the farming practice.
Thus, use of old traditional tools and implements is cne of the major causes of poor agricultural systems in Assam.
Q.2. Write the role of rice cultivation on the agriculture of Assam.
Ans :- The cropland of Assam is dominated by the cultivation of foodgrains, viz rice, wheat, maize, gram and small millets. Among these, rice as the staple food crop continues to dominate the state’s agriculture.
Since the introduction of high yielding varieties of rice in the last part of the 1960’s, the area under rice in the state noticeably increased.
Considering the growing and harvesting period, rice of Assam is categorized into three main groups – autumn rice (ahu), winter rice (sali) and summer rice (Boro). An important variety of winter rice locally known as Bao is cultivated in the low-lying areas where floods and waterlogged conditions make cultivation of other rice difficult.
It is interesting to note that among the three groups of rice a trend of taking over others areas has recently emerged which may be attributed to the growing awareness among the farmers to select the varieties best suited to a particular ecological set-up.
Q.3. What are the geographical factors, which favours the tea cultivation in Assam.
Ans :- Tea is more flourished in the upper Assam because the different conditions for growing of tea are mostly favourable in the upper part of Assam. The yield per hectare and quality mainly depend upon climate. soil, topography, plucking practice, etc.
Besides, the cost of production is also influenced by some other factors like labour, adaptation of modern techniques etc.
It requires a high amount of water which should not be standing. This part of Assam provides sloping hills with enough rain water for its growth. Large labour force is also available in this part of Assam.
Q.4. Give an account on the fruit production in Assam.
Ans :- Banana is an important fruit of Assam. It is grown as an orchard crop in the compound of almost every homestead in the plains of foothills. There are many varieties of banana in Assam. However, Assam is by far the most important producer of it. Although almost all the plains districts of the state produce bananas, Goalpara and Kamrup districts are leading producers of good varieties of Banana.
The area west of Chhaygaon in the south bank of kamrup district upto Agia of Goalpara district and the adjoining Garo foothills is traditionally famous for a variety of banana called ‘malbhog’ which is highly priced. In fact, Dhupdhara and Daranggiri are very important centres of banana collection and distribution. Every day scores of truckloads of bananas move out from these two centres to different parts of Assam, northern West Bengal, eastern Bihar and Nepal. In 1990-91 Assam produced 444,000 tonnes of bananas, and the whole of North-East India Produced 552.960 tonnes (including Assam).
Q.5. Discuss about the characteristics and potentialities of the bamboo and cane crafts in Assam.
Ans :- Bamboo and cane work is another important cottage industry of the whole of Assam. Household gadgets such as containers of various shapes and sizes, big and small round plate-like structures for drying grains. sieves. winnows, various fish catching devices, ctc. are made of bamboo and cane at home for domestic use. Various agricultural implements are also made at home with bamboo and cane.
Wicker hats (japis) are made of bamboo and the leaf of a variety of palm. Various sorts of bags for carrying domestic necessities are made of bamboo and cane, especially in the hills. Different items of the furniture industry have also been declining in the face of competition from cheap plastic goods on the one hand, and growing scarcity of bamboo, cane and wood, on the other. The state government, through the agencies like Khadi Board, Small Industrial Development Corporation, District Rural Development Authority etc have been giving impetus to this industry and some artisans have, in recent years, engaged themselves in producing decorative items and furniture of bamboo, cane, wood and leaves.
Q.6. Write a brief note on the condition, which favour the growth of petroleum industries in Assam.
Ans :- Assam is rich in petroleum deposits. In fact, until the middle of the 1960. Assam was the only state in India producing some amount of oil. The presence of oil in the forests and fields of upper Assam was detected as early as in 1822. Subsequently on the advice of Mr. H.B Medlicott, an oil well was mechanically drilled in 1867 near Namdang river between Margherita and Joypore by Mr.
Goodenough oil could be struck there at a depth of only 37 metres. On further probe it was found that the quantity of oil there was not much and hence its exploitation or further drilling were not taken up. Meanwhile, Assam Railway and Trading Company started laying railway track between Margherita and Makum mainly to transport coal from the Ledo-Margherita region and it was in the course of their cleaning and digging works that the Company engineers detected many oil seepages in the Digboi area in 1889.
The Company engineers then drilled a well at Barbil in 1890 which produced about 900 litres (200 gallons) of oil every day. During the period 1890-1899 the A.R.T Company drilled 14 oil wells and having found them productive, a new company under the name of Assam Oil Company was constituted in 1899 A refinery was set up at Namdang, near Margherita and the erude produced in the surrounding wells began to be refined. The A.O.C. was a small Company and had limited resources. It could drill only 80 wells in 20 years. The Burma Oil Company then took over the A.O.C. in 1920 as a subsidiary and the former set up a new large refinery at Digboi in 1921 at Masimpur (at a depth of 1318 metres), Panchagram and Badarpur of Barak Valley. Although commercial exploitation has not been started here, it is hoped that these will turn out to be commercially viable fields.
In 1985-86, Assam produced 4.97 million tonnes of crude oil. In that year Assam’s production accounted for 16 p.c. of the national total production of 30.16 million tonnes.
Q.7. Give an account on the oil refineries of Assam.
Ans :- Oil is known as the liquid gold of Assam. Its existence in upper Assam was recorded as far back as 1825. Oil and petroleum fields in Assam are concentrated in several places of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sibsagar and Jorhat districts.
The first oil-refinery was set up at Digboi in 1901 by the Assam Railway and trading company. During 1952-54 new oil fields were discovered at Naharkatia, Hugrijan and Moran near the Digboi fields. To process the newly found crude oil, the second refinery in Assam was set up in 1962 at Noonmati (Guwahati) in the public sector, which stood with the assistance of the Government of Romania. Subsequently several oil companies were formed.
The third refinery and petrochemical complex was set up at Bongaigaon in 1979. The fourth one is also being constructed at Numaligarh of Golaghat district with a capacity of 3 million tonnes.
Q.8.Give an account on the Tea Industry of Assam.
Ans :- Students do yourself.
Q.9. Give a note on how the agricultural development in Assam could be made faster.
Ans :- Agriculture in Assam is mostly seasonal because Assam is the state where the farmers still depend upon the erratic monsoons for water to carry on their agricultural activities. Also, the farmers of the state give special emphasis on the cultivation of rice, the most dominant crop in the state in terms of both percentage and productivity.
It is disheartening to note that the gross irrigated area in Assam constitutes only 15.06 of the state’s gross cropped area. It is worth mentioning that about 3.5-4 0 lakh hectare of land in the state are annually affected by floods and standing kharif crops (rice) are usually damaged by floods. Under such circumstances the only alternative left for the farmers of the flood-prone areas is to take up rabi cropping in order to compensate the loss caused by flood during the summer. Extensive rabi cropping, however not economically viable because of the inadequate supply of irrigation.
Agricultural development in Assam could be made faster by adopting modern irrigation agricultural techniques with a high yield variety of plants, vegetables and crops.
Q.10. Give the reasons why setting up of heavy industries in Assam is difficult.
Ans :- Setting up of heavy industry in Assam is difficult due to –
(a) Assam is located at the north-east corner of India with a narrow corridor
(b) Assam has poor development of transportation and communication.
(c) The people have an agricultural tenancy compare to the industrial concept.
Q.11. Give reasons why Assam as a whole is suitable for rice cultivation.
Ans :- Rice is the most important food crop of Assam. It is grown both in the plains and in the hills. It is often said that the North-Eastern region along with southern China and SouthEast Asia, is the original homeland of rice That rice is intimately connected with the life of the people of the region is obvious from the fact that it not only forms the staple food for them but also many of their rituals and festivals are associated with sowing and harvesting of the crop The Bihu festivals of Assam are closely associated with rice cultivation and harvesting.
Depending on the season of cultivation, the rice grown in Assam can be divided into three varieties Aman or Salı, Aus or Ahu and Bao The Aman rice is transplanted in summer from late May to September in wet fields and harvested in the period from late November to early January Of the three varieties, this is the most important from the viewpoint of area cropped and output. Aus or Ahu rice is broadcast in the months of March and April in dry fields and harvested in summer.
This variety is grown either in very low lying areas where Aman rice cannot be grown due to the presence of standing water in summer, or on the comparatively high land where enough water does not accumulate even in summer for Aman rice. Bao rice is essentially a variety of long stemmed rice that can withstand a long period of deep and stagnant water. Its seeds are broadcast in spring when the ground remains dry and is harvested in winter when the water that accumulates over the ground in summer has dried up.
Besides these three varieties, another variety, known as “Boro is grown in the low lying area of Assam. It is transplanted in the months of December and January in the low lying areas where water level goes down to a few centimetres by this season. It is a quick-growing variety and can be harvested in April and May before the water level rises.
Climatically and pedologically, the river valleys of Assam are suitable for production of rice. It, being the most important staple, is grown not only on the plains but also on the hills. In fact, rice occupies more than two thirds of the total land under cultivation in Assam.
Of the four varieties of rice grown in the plains of the state, the Ahu or Aus or Autumn rice is broadcast in spring, while all the other three varieties., viz. Sali or Aman, Boro and Bao are transplanted. Over the hills, however, varieties of upland rice are grown. Some of these, like Ahu in the plains, are broadcast in the jhum-fields, while others are grown on the terraced hill slopes or at the narrow valley bottoms under wet conditions.
Q.13. Write the geographical and economic conditions necessary for Jute Cultivation in Assam.
Ans :- Assam now produces about 1/8 of the total jute production of the country. In 1990-2000 the state produced 657000 bale: of jute over 90000 hectares of land The latter constituted 3.02% of the total land under agriculture in the state. In 2000-01 Assam produced 6.68.000 bales of jute on 70000 hectares of land The yield per hectare was 1730 kg.
Assam : Trend of Jute production
| Year | Area (in’ 000 ha) | Production (in’ 000 bales 1 bale = 180 kg) | Yield (kg/h) |
| 1960-61 | 125.7 | 885.1 | ——– |
| 1970-71 | 128.0 | 928.0 | 1304 |
| 1980-81 | 112.3 | 912.0 | 1463 |
| 1990-91 | 95.5 | 865.9 | 1682 |
| 2000-2001 | 70.0 | 668.0 | 1730 |
| 2003-2004 | 64.0 | 665.0 | ——- |
Since jute is essentially a cash crop, its cultivation is sensitive to the demand and supply in the market. Therefore, its production varies from year to year following its demand in the national and international market. Cf late, the demand of raw jute has come down because of the production of synthetic fibre for making bags, carpets, ropes etc. It is found that in 1985-86 the production rose to 1178200 bales over 129600 hectares. In 1990-91 the production of jute decreased to 367400 bales over 101600 hectares because of fall in demand in the market.
Assam is the most important producer of jute in North East India. About 81% of the total area devoted to jute in the region is in Assam. This crop contributes largely to the economy of the state along with tea, oil and timber. Assam received more attention as a jute growing state after partition. This state is now the second most important jute grower in the country after West Bengal. Assam devotes 80,000 hectares to 1,00,000 hectares of land and produces about 8,00,000 bales to 9,00,000 bales of raw jute.
Dhubri, Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup, Darang, Marigaon, and Nagaon are the districts where it is grown in large quantities. Besides these districts, each of Sontipur, Lakhimpur and Karbi Anglong also produces some quantities of it. In crops are grown in the low lying flood-plains near the river Brahmaputra and its large tributaries by immigrant settlers of earthwhile East Bengal. In the Barak Valley jute is grown, to some extent, in all the three districts on the floodplains of the Barak river.
In recent years efforts have been made to improve the quality and to augment the production of jute in Assam. For this purpose, the following Development Blocks have been included under the “Special Jute Development Progress Programme.
(i) Gauripur, Bilasipara and South Salmara in Dhubri district.
(ii) Gossaigaon in Kokrajhar district.
(iii) Manikpur in Bongaigaon district.
(iv) Rupasi and Gobardhan in Barpeta district.
(v) Barkhetri in Nalbari district.
(vi) Hajo in Kamrup district.
(vii) Dalgaon, Sialmari, Majbat and Kharupetia in Darrang district.
(viii) Juria, Lawkhowa and Batadraba in Nagaon district.
(ix) Bhurbandha in Morigaon district.
Very recently two new varieties of jute have been developed.
Q.14. Write a note on the development of Numaligarh Refinery.
Ans :- Numaligarh Refinery : The fourth refinery in the state was set up at Numaligarh in Golaghat district in 1993 with a refining capacity of 2 million tonnes of output per annum. Crude oil for refining is brought from the oil fields of both OIL and ONGC in Upper Assam. This is a high-tech refinery and has various processing units like crude distillation unit, vacuum distillation unit, coke calcination unit, delayed coker unit, hydrogen unit, hydrogen cracker unit, catalytic cracking unit, sulphur recovery unit, kerosene distillation unit and a captive power plant. The refinery, furthermore, produces LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas), high speed diesel, aviation turbo-fuel, naphtha and calcined coke. This Refinery is also known as ‘Accord Refinery’, as it came as a result of the Assam Accord of 1985.
Q.15. Write briefly the historical development of Noonmati Refinery.
Ans :- Noonmati Refinery : After the discovery of Naharkatiya ang Moran oil fields in 1951, the output of Petroleum in Assam increased manifolds. So the then Central Government decided to set up two new refineries – one at Barauni in Bihar and the other one near Guwahati is Assam.
The refinery near Guwahati was set up at Noonmati with a refining capacity of 7.5 lakh metric tonnes of output with Rumanian technological collaboration. It started commercial production in January, 1962. At present its capacity has been increased to I million metric tonnes. The crude for this refinery is brought through a pipe line from the oil fields located 440 km away. The refinery produces petrol, diesel and kerosene.
The important by-products are furnace oil, coke, wax, lubricant, etc. This refinery has also been modernised, as a result of which its production capacity has become 1.5 million metric tonne. Besides it can produce lead free petrol, crude wax, coke and paraffin. The liquified petroleum gas (LPG) produced in this refinery is used for domestic purposes.
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