West Siang district | |
|---|---|
 Siyom River near Aalo | |
 West Siang district Location in Arunachal Pradesh | |
| Country |  India |
| 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]
