Assam’s Majuli island, the world's largest riverine island that features in the Guinness World Records, will be upgraded from a sub-division to a district on Thursday. With this, Assam will get its 35th district and Majuli will become India’s first island district.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who won the recent Assembly elections from Majuli, will inaugurate the deputy commissioner's office, reported The Telegraph. He said the government chose September 8 as the day for the announcement to pay tribute to Assamese singer Bhupen Hazarika. "It's his birth anniversary and we wanted to start the district administrative work on a holy day,” Sonowal told the Times of India.

Residents are upbeat and hope the new status will bring in development for this backward region. According to The Telegraph, people of this island that has no electricity, hospital or college in the vicinity, are hopeful that these basic necessities will soon be fulfilled.

Majuli faces frequent floods and heavy erosion because of the Brahmaputra and Subansiri rivers. According to PTI, the island has lost around one third of its area over the past 40 years. Majuli is also awaiting the 'cultural landscape' World Heritage tag from the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, reported the Times of India.