Dhubri

Asharikandi
Asharikandi, a model village of terracotta and pottery industry has a very rich tradition of making "Hatima Dolls". The style of terracotta dolls is believed to have similarity with the dolls found in the Ruins of "MOHEN-ZO-DARO" and "HARAPPA" civilization.Other styles of terracotta and pottery forms are GANESH IDOLS, ONE HORNED RHINO,ELEPHANT,MOTHER AND CHILD etc.

ARTISANS : There are 70 Paul(kumbhakar) community artisans family pratising this craft traditionally. In 1982, Late Sarala Bala Devi begged president award for her "HATIMA DOLL" style.Shri Dhirendra Nath Paul, the master craft man represented India at the Festival of India in Sweden in the year 1987 and visited West Germany and Denmark. Sri Mahadev Paul is a state awardee for his "GANESH IDOL" style in the year 1985.

MARKETING : These artisans are selling the finished products within the state, country and abroad.The local hawkers also sell the products in the nearby urban areas.Some traders sell the products in other states by collecting the goods and carrying these to other states by trucks.The goods are also sold to visitors and tourists on the spot.

FOR VISITORS : Asharikandi is situated under Devitola Block of Dhubri district and is 14km to the North of Dhubri town.DRDA, Dhubri has constructed a tourist lodge at Asharikandi. Comfortable hotels are also available at nearby Gauripur and Dhubri.Best time to visit is between October and April.


Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary
On the 14th of July,1994, a unique virgin forest patch of Dhubri District of Assam had been declared as Wildlife Sanctuary by the gazette notification of the assam Government.This Sanctuary has been named as "Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary". This is the youngest sanctuary of the North East India having an area of 11260.00 acres.Chakrasila is unique because of the presence of Golden Langur ( Presbytis geei ) which is nowhere found except along the Assam and Bhutan border.Besides, the virgin forest of Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary is endowed with rare specimens of tress, shrubs, medicinal plants, mammals, reptiles and exquisite birds and insects.

Geographical location of the Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary is in the latitute 26° 15' to 26° 26' N and logitude 90° 15' to 90 ° 20' E. It is in the District of Dhubri, the western most region of Assam. It is 68 Km from the District headquarter Dhubri and 219 Km from the Borjhar Airport of Guwahati City.

There are several small springs for quenching the thirst of the wild animals of this Hilly forest.But the two major perennial springs in the Sanctuary are howhowi Jhora and Bamuni Jhora, which flow over the rocks, sparkling and spattering throughout the year, adding to the scenic beauty of the Sanctuary.

Climatic conditions of Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary is like that of temperate zone with dry winder and hot summer followed by heavey rains.Annual rainfall is between 200 to 400 cm.Soil is azonal, forestlike and hilly. temperature throughout the year generally varies between 8° C to 30° C.

The diverse eco-systems of Chakrasila present a model habitat diversity and support various mammlian spicies like Tiger, leopard, Golden Langur, Leopard Cat, Gaur, Mongoose, Porcupine, Pangoline, Flying Squirrel, Civet Cat etc. Along with all these prolific gifts of the nature Chakrasila has a wide variety of avifauna.

It is to be noted that the two internationally recognized wetlands namely Dhir and Deeplai has not been yet taken inside the declared boundary of the Sanctuary. But they are very a part of the Chakrasila eco-system. It is expected that in due course they will be included within the Sanctuary.