Brahmaputra river cuts land at Nimatighat in Jorhat district of Assam, on Jun 4, 2017. (Photo: IANS)

In the north of the district, the Brahmaputra River forms the largest riverine island in the world, Majuli, which spreads over 924.6 square kilometers with a population of about 150,000. The island, threatened with constant erosion by the mighty and unstable Brahmaputra River, had been the principal place of pilgrimage of Vaishnavites since the age of the Ahom rulers.