Buxa
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Buxa
Cantonment in the Alipur subdivision of Jalpaigurl District, Eastern Bengal and Assam, situated in 26° 46' N. and 89° 35' E., on a small gravel plateau 2,000 feet above sea-level, in a valley in the lower range of the Bhutan hills. Population (1901), 581. Buxa commands one of the principal passes leading into Bhutan and lies on the trade route from that State, whence ivory, wax, wool, musk, rhinoceros' horns, cotton cloth, endi silk cloth, blankets, honey, and brick-tea are imported and purchased by local merchants, who either pay in cash or give in exchange rice, tobacco, English cloth, betel-nuts, &c.
Large quantities of indigenous wool, both from Bhutan and through Bhutan from Tibet and Central Asia, enter India through this channel for export to Europe. The cantonment, which was established during the Bhutan A\'ar in 1865, consists of a rough fort to which three pickets are attached on spurs at a higher elevation. A detachment of native infantry is stationed here. Water is obtained from two perennial streams, one of which issues from the base of the plateau. The average annual rainfall of 209 inches is the highest recorded in Bengal.
