Upper Dibang Valley district


Dibang Valley is a district of Arunachal Pradesh named after the Dibang River or the Talon as the Mishmis call it. Although the Dibang Valley district is the largest district in the state with an area of, it is the least populated district in India.

History

In June 1980, Dibang Valley district was created out of part of Lohit district. On 16 December 2001, Dibang Valley district was bifurcated into Dibang Valley district and Lower Dibang Valley district.

Geography

The Dibang River originates in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh and flows through the length of the valley which is named after it. The Dibang has multiple tributaries and only once it debouches into the plains is it called by its name. Some of the major rivers of Dibang Valley District are: Ahui, Emra, Mathun, Dri, Tangon, Ithun, and Ange. The capital of this district, Anini, is the northernmost district capital in Northeast India. This district contains the northernmost point of Northeast India.

Transport

The proposed Mago-Thingbu to Vijaynagar Arunachal Pradesh Frontier Highway along the McMahon Line, and will pass through this district, alignment map of which can be seen and .

Divisions

There is only one Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly constituency in this district: Anini. It is part of Arunachal East Lok Sabha constituency.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Dibang Valley district has a population of 7,948, roughly equal to the nation of Nauru. This gives it a ranking of 640th in India. The district has a population density of .With this, it is also the most sparsely populated district in India. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 9.3%. Dibang Valley has a sex ratio of 808 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 64.8%.
The major population of this district consists of Mishmi.
The Mishmis have a story narrating the first journeys undertaken in course of migration. The story conveys the names and location of the Cheethu-Huluni or the twelve rivers that the Mishmi people came over in the region and settled around. The first accounts of the Mishmi are found in the narrations given by the neighboring Ahoms. The Mishmis inhabited the deep jungles of what is now the Dibang valley.

Religion

Total population: 7,272
Languages spoken include Mishmi, a Sino-Tibetan tongue with approximately 25000 speakers, written in both the Tibetan and Latin scripts.

Flora and fauna

The district is rich in wildlife. Rare mammals such as Mishmi takin, Red goral and Gongshan muntjac occurs while among birds there is the rare Sclater's Monal. A flying squirrel, new to science has been recently discovered from this district. It has been named as Mishmi Hills Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista mishmiensis.
In 1991 Dibang Valley district became home to the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of.