GUWAHATI: One of the well known posh and scenic localities of Guwahati, the kharghuli Hills are believed to have been named so as it was a magazine during the Ahom era where artilleries “khar-barood” (khar referring to gunpowder) were stored.
Thukubilia Sankari Bor Naamghar located to the left (while travelling from Uzan Bazar) at the start of the kharghuli Road is centuries old.
A short distance further are three centuries-old bungalows that served as the official quarters of the Joint Steamer Company during the British period.
After the company closed operation, the bungalows were taken over by the Gauhati High Court. Of these two have remained which are now being used as the judges’ quarters. The area is now known as Malibagan.
kharghuli also had a tea garden owned by a British person named Cambell. In the early part of the 20th century the tea garden was taken over by Manik Chandra Barooah, a prominent businessman of the time and the first chairman of Guwahati Municipal Board (now GMC). The garden was named Latasil Tea Estate. The estate was closed down upon Barooah’s death in 1915. The Assam state Raj Bhawan is now located on a fraction of the estates’ land.
