Sangbay Gewog Explained

Official Name:Sangbay Gewog
Native Name:གསང་སྦས་
Settlement Type:Gewogs
Pushpin Map:Bhutan Haa
Pushpin Mapsize:300px
Pushpin Map Caption:Sangbay Gewog in Bhutan's Haa District
Coordinates:27.1688°N 89.1052°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Bhutan
Subdivision Type1:District
Subdivision Name1:Haa District
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:432.8
Population As Of:2017
Population Total:911
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:BTT
Utc Offset:+6

Sangbay or Sangbaykha (Dzongkha: གསང་སྦས|gsang sbas|size=120%) Gewog is a gewog (village block) of Haa District, Bhutan. It is one of the western gewogs of the Haa district sharing borders with the Samtse District, India's Sikkim state and China's Chumbi Valley (Yadong County). The latter border has been contested by China, which claims the Doklam region as its territory. In recent years, China has begun to build villages in its claimed area.[1]

Geography

In 2013, the Eleventh Plan document reported that the gewog had an area of 432.8 square kilometres, with 97 per cent of it covered by forest.

The gewog mainly consists of the basin of the Amo Chu river after it enters the gewog near Sinchela. (Above this point, only the left bank of the river is included in Bhutan; the right bank belongs to China's Chumbi Valley.) The upper part of the river valley in the gewog is said to be narrow with steep ridges. It has no population centres. Most of the villages are near Sangbay, the site of a historic dzong (now in ruins). The Tule La pass (27.1497°N 88.9854°W) on the Zompelri ridge provided communication with the modern Samtse District and the Dalingkot region further west. (The Dalingkot tract was ceded to British India after the Anglo-Bhutan War of 1865, and is now India's Kalimpong district.)

The Zompelri ridge continues to the north in a semi-circular formation, with the Mount Gipmochi (4,427 m) at its apex. Beyond Gipmochi is India's Sikkim state. To the north of the Zompelri ridge and connecting with the Dongkya Range is the Doklam plateau, which gives rise to a tributary of Amo Chu called Torsa Nala or Doklam River. The basin of the Doklam river, termed the "Doklam region", is claimed by China as its territory.[2]

Demographics

The population of the gewog by the 2017 census was 911.[3] [4] The Election Commission listed 16 villages in the gewog 2011. The number of households is 183.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Vishnu Som, Pics Expose China's Inroads Near Doklam - Bid To Bypass Indian Defences?, NDTV News, 20 July 2022.
  2. Web site: The Facts and China's Position Concerning the Indian Border Troops' Crossing of the China-India Boundary in the Sikkim Sector into the Chinese Territory . Government of China . 1 Aug 2017 . 9. . Note: China uses the name "Dong Lang" for Doklam.
  3. http://www.haa.gov.bt/counter/direct_download/419 Annual Dzongkhag Statistics 2018
  4. https://www.citypopulation.de/en/bhutan/admin/haa/BT00505__sangbay/ Sangbay Gewog in Bhutan