East Garo Hills district explained

East Garo Hills district
Settlement Type:District of Meghalaya
Total Type:Total
Native Name:East Garo
Coor Pinpoint:Williamnagar
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:India
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Meghalaya
Established Title:Established
Seat Type:Headquarters
Seat:Williamnagar
Parts Type:Tehsils
Parts Style:para
Area Total Km2:2603
Population As Of:2001
Population Total:317,917
Population Density Km2:auto
Demographics Type1:Demographics
Demographics1 Title1:Literacy
Demographics1 Info1:53%
Demographics1 Title2:Sex ratio
Leader Title2:Vidhan Sabha constituencies
Leader Name2:7
Timezone1:IST
Utc Offset1:+05:30

East Garo Hills is an administrative district in the state of Meghalaya in India.

History

The East Garo Hills district was formed in 1976, after the erstwhile Garo Hills district of Meghalaya was re-organised with a view to bring the administration closer to the people.

The district headquarters-complex of the district, christened as Williamnagar after the name of Captain Williamson A. Sangma the founder Chief Minister of the State of Meghalaya. Williamnagar is located on the vast plainlands along the bank of the Simsang River, at Simsanggre. These plainlands are in a sense historical, as it was here that the Garos made their last major resistance to the British intrusion into Garo Hills during the year 1837. The legendary Garo leader Pa Togan Nengminja Sangma was felled by the British, in skirmish, at Chisobibra, quite close to Wiliamnagar, on 12 December 1837.

Geography

The district headquarters are located at Williamnagar. The district occupies an area of 2603 km2.

Divisions

Lok Sabha

The district falls under the Tura (Lok Sabha constituency) which Purno Agitok Sangma had been represented at the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the Indian Parliament since 1975-2016. Purno Agitok Sangma had been former Union Minister and has the distinction of being the only unanimously elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha (during the 11th Lok Sabha). After his death, his son Conrad Sangma representing this constituency.[1]

Assembly Constituency

There are 3 (three) Assembly Constituencies of the Meghalaya State Legislative Assembly within the East Garo Hills District of Meghalaya. The Assembly Constituencies are as follows:

Administrative divisions

East Garo Hills division is divided into five blocks:[2]

NameHeadquartersPopulationLocation
Dambo RongjengRongjeng
KharkuttaKharkutta
ResubelparaResubelpara
SamandaSamanda
SongsakSongsak

Demographics

According to the 2011 census East Garo Hills district has a population of 317,917,[3] roughly equal to the nation of The Bahamas.[4] This gives it a ranking of 569th in India (out of a total of 640).[3] The district has a population density of 122PD/sqkm .[3] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 26.75%.[3] East Garo Hills has a sex ratio of 968 females for every 1000 males,[3] and a literacy rate of 75.51%.[3]

Languages

East Garo's languages include A'Tong, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by 10,000 people in Bangladesh and India.[5]

Flora and fauna

In 1986 East Garo Hills district, along with its sister districts South and West Garo Hills, became home to Nokrek National Park. The park has an area of 47abbr=onNaNabbr=on.[6]

External links

25.4955°N 90.6168°W

Notes and References

  1. News: Congress dragging religion into Meghalaya polls, says Conrad Sangma . . Feb 23, 2018 . Feb 27, 2018.
  2. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, New Delhi, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India . Meghalaya Administrative Divisions . en . PDF . 2011 . 2011-09-29 .
  3. Web site: District Census 2011 . 2011-09-30 . 2011 . Census2011.co.in.
  4. Web site: US Directorate of Intelligence . Country Comparison:Population . https://web.archive.org/web/20070613004507/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html . dead . 13 June 2007 . 2011-10-01 . Bahamas, The 313,312.
  5. Encyclopedia: M. Paul Lewis . Ethnologue: Languages of the World . A'Tong: A language of India . 2011-09-28 . 16th . 2009 . SIL International . Dallas, Texas.
  6. Web site: Indian Ministry of Forests and Environment . Protected areas: Meghalaya . September 25, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110823163836/http://oldwww.wii.gov.in/envis/envis_pa_network/index.htm . August 23, 2011 .