West Siang district | |
---|---|
![]()
Siyom River near
Aalo | |
Location in Arunachal Pradesh | |
Country | ![]() |
State | Arunachal Pradesh |
Headquarters | Aalo |
Population (2011)
[1] | |
• Total | 58,182 |
Demographics | |
• Literacy | 67.6% [1] |
• Sex ratio | 916 [1] |
Time zone | UTC+05:30 ( IST) |
Website |
westsiang |
West Siang district (Pron:/ˈsjæŋ or ˈsɪæŋ/) is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India.
In 1989, territory was given from West Siang to the East Siang district. [2] Since 1999, this territory has been in the new Upper Siang district. [2] Archaeological finds from Malinithan in West Siang are on display at the Jawaharlal Nehru Museum, Itanagar. [3] It was once a part of the Chutiya kingdom. [4] West Siang was divided into Upper Siang and Lower Siang. West Siang district was bifurcated on 9 December 2018 when northern areas along China border were made a separate Shi Yomi district.
The district headquarters is located at Aalo. West Siang district occupies an area of 8,325 square kilometres (3,214 sq mi), [5] comparatively equivalent to Crete. [6]
The 2,000-kilometre-long (1,200 mi) proposed Mago- Thingbu to Vijaynagar Arunachal Pradesh Frontier Highway along the McMahon Line [7] [8] [9] [10] will intersect with the proposed East-West Industrial Corridor Highway and will pass through this district, alignment map of which can be seen here and here. [11]
There are seven Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district: Liromoba, Likabali, Basar, Along West, Along East, Rumgong, and Mechuka. The first six are part of Arunachal West Lok Sabha constituency, while Mechuka is part of Arunachal East Lok Sabha constituency. [12]
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1961 | 42,222 | — |
1971 | 53,779 | +2.45% |
1981 | 68,320 | +2.42% |
1991 | 89,936 | +2.79% |
2001 | 103,918 | +1.46% |
2011 | 112,274 | +0.78% |
source: [13] |
According to the 2011 Census, West Siang district has a population of 112,274, [14] roughly equal to the nation of Grenada. [15] This gives it a ranking of 612th in India (out of a total of 640). [14] The district has a population density of 13 inhabitants per square kilometre (34/sq mi). [14] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 8.04%. [14] West Siang has a sex ratio of 916 females for every 1000 males, [14] and a literacy rate of 67.62%. [14]
After bifurcation the residual West Siang district has a population of 58,182. Scheduled Tribes make up 46,204 (79.41%). [1]
Various tribal groups of the Galo, Memba, and Khamba tribes live in the district. The Galo generally follow Donyi-Polo, although some have embraced Baptist Christianity in recent years. The Memba and Khamba are followers of Tibetan Buddhism.
Languages spoken include Galo, a Sino-Tibetan tongue with approximately 140 000 speakers, written in both the Tibetan and Latin scripts; [17] and Galo, an endangered language with 30 000 speakers, also in the Sino-Tibetan language family. [18]
70.41% of the population spoke Galo, 6.65% Hindi, 3.18% Nepali, 2.75% Adi, 2.63% Bengali, 2.34% Assamese, 2.17% Bhojpuri and 1.68% Miniyong as their first language. [19]
The district is rich in wildlife. Rare mammals such as Mishmi takin, Snow leopards, Red pandas, and Musk deer occur while among birds there is the rare Blyth's Tragopan. [20] A flying squirrel, new to science, has been recently discovered from this district. It has been named as Mechuka Giant Flying Squirrel. [21]
In 1991, West Siang became home to the Kane Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of 55 km2 (21.2 sq mi). [22]
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Crete 8,350km2
Grenada 108,419 July 2011 est.