West Khasi Hills  district General information

West Khasi Hills is an administrative district in the state of Meghalaya in India. The district headquarters is located at Nongstoin. The district occupies an area of 5247 km² and has a population of 294,115 (as of 2001). The district is predominantly inhabited by Khasi tribe. Khasi society has greatly been transformed by many factors which have arisen in recent times. Adoption of the Western style of life, especially among the literate and educated, have been quite rapid although the matrilineal laws of inheritance and succession and the other cultural traits are still retained.

History

West   Khasi  Hills,  presently     the   largest   district  of Meghalaya,  was carved  out of the erstwhile Khasi Hills District on the 28th October, 1976.   In  the  same   year,   on  10th November, the Mairang Civil Subdivision was inaugurated, whereas the Mawkyrwat Block was converted into an Administrative unit. With the   upgradation  of  Mawkyrwat  into a full-fledged   Sub-Division   on   June   26th   1982,   the  District now comprises of three Sub-Divisions (including the Sadar Sub-Division), one Administrative Unit viz., Mawshynrut which came into being on   the  9th  February,  1996  and 6 (six)     C & R D Blocks viz.,   Nongstoin, Mairang,  Mawkyrwat, Mawshynrut,  Ranikor      including       Mawthadraishan  Block    which was    created  vide  Govt.   Notification   NO.CDD.232/89/Pt/61, dt. 20th March, 2001.  

Area & Location

The  District  lies  in  the  central  part of the State of Meghalaya and is situated between approximately 25  degrees  10'  and  25  degrees  51'  N latitude, and between 90 degrees 44' and 91 degrees 49' E  longitude.  It is bounded on the north-west by Kamrup district of Assam,  on the north-east by Ri Bhoi district, on the east by  East  Khasi  Hills  district,  on the south by Bangladesh, on the west by East Garo and South   Garo Hills districts.  The district comprises  an  area  of  about  5,247   sq.kms which is 23 percent of the total area of the state. Nongstoin, covering an area of about 76.00 Sq. Kms, is the Headquarter of the District.

The People

The  District comprises of eight Syiemships viz., Nongstoin, Nongkhlaw, Maharam, Myriaw, rambrai, Mawiang, Langrin Nobosophoh, together with the three Sirdarships of Jyrngam, Riangsih and Nonglang.

Mineral Resources

West  Khasi  Hills is very rich in mineral resources, but most of the  minerals are under investigation.  Important minerals in the district  are   Sillimanite, Coal, limestone and Uranium.

   (i) Sillimanite:    The   world's  best  known  deposit  of sillimanite are located in Sonapahar  under  Mawshynrut  Block.     It  is  estimated  that Sonapahar contains an approximate reserve of 2,55,000 tonnes of high grade Sillimanite spread  over a belt of 20x10 kms.  This was being mined by the Bharat Refractories Ltd., but has been stopped with the expiry of the land lease.  

   (ii) Coal :   The  district  has  good  deposits  of  coal  and  is  being commercially exploited. Coal is found in Shallang area under Mawshynrut block which is being mined, extracted and exported to other states through   Assam and also in the  international  border  area  around  Borsora  under Ranikor block which is extracted and exported to Bangladesh.

   (iii) Limestone :  Limestone is found in abundance in the southern part of the   district  and  is  being  commercially  exploited  and  exported  to  Bangladesh also.

   (iv) Uranium extensive  exploratory  works  has been undertaken at Domiasiat, Nongkulang, Tinniang near Nonglanglieh and Tynnai and Nonglang (Mawkyrwat) for uranium deposits which is considered to be of a high- grade quality.

West Khasi Hills district is, at present, having  no  hydro  electric project.   However,  there  is good hydro electric potential from the Khri river and the Kynshi river.

Physiography

The District may be divided into  four  broad  geographical units.   There is the Western sector with dense jungles with an elevation of 600 to 900 metres, bordering the Garo Hills.  In the Southern   sector,  especially  the south-eastern part, the hills slope rather abruptly to an elevation of about 150 metres, close to the plains of Bangladesh.  In the Northern sector, there are a series of hills and ranges  which  gradually slope   down to an altitude of about 150 metres till they reach the plains of Assam.  In the central sector, the hill ranges run parallel from  East to West forming the highest part of the district with an average altitude of about 1400 metres.

Hill Ranges

  The only hill range of significance in the district is  the Mawthadraishan range  which  runs from  east to west.  Hilly formations, that have potential tourist attraction are the  Kyllang  rock,  which  is formed  of  a  huge  igneous  rock,  located near Nongkhlaw (11 kms) from  Mairang . Apart   from   this,  the  other  major  hills  are  U Mawleng in the Lyngngam Area located between Nongiawnaw and Snaram and the Mawhiang rock at Mawkyllei near Pariong. Lum   Kyllai-Longsngun at Myriem, 40 Km.    from   Nongstoin,  Lum  Iawpaw  near Nongnah of Ranikor block, Lum Nongsynrih at Mawkyrwat block , Lum Iangram , Lum Kubuit, Lum Kubah, Lum Langpoin near Pyndeng Umjarain - Nongtynniaw   and  U Lum Kohtyllaw at Nongtnger, are other  peaks in the District.

River

There  are two important river systems in the district, the Kynshi and the Khri, with a number of tributaries.    Kynshi, the bigger of the two, rises  in  the  southern  slopes  of  Marpna Peak  near Mawmaram village  (about 10 kms from Mairang on the way to Shillong).  It follows a westerly course for a considerable distance then takes a   sharp bend to  the  east  and  enters the plains of Bangladesh at Ranikor.  The   Khri river rises near Kyllang rock and flows northwards and is joined  by Khri Synnia   river before it enters the plains of Assam.    Other important rivers that constitute the drainage system of the district are the Umngi, Wahblei, Rilang, Riangdo, Tyrsung, Ryndi, Rwiang, Umit Synthi and Btit.      

Flora & Fauna

The district is blessed with a rich heritage of flora  comprising  of Khasi  pines  in  the higher altitude areas and Teak, Sal,Titachap, Gamari and Makri Sal in the lower reaches.  Orchids and pitcher plants  are  also found in many pockets.  However, with the passage of time, owing to the deforestation process most of the species have been depleted.

The fauna of the district includes elephants,  apes,  monkeys,  deer, sambar, tigers, wild boars, bears, leopards and many others.  However, due    to poaching and deforestation, the number of wild animals have depleted to a great  extent.   Currently, elephant depredation is the common occurrence due to the fact that their original habitat have  been  disturbed  by  the haphazard cutting of trees. Indiscriminate burning of forest and plantation, impedes, the re-generation process.

Climate

The climate of the district is mildly tropical in the northern and southern foothills, while in the central upland zone, the climate is temperate and places at medium altitude in the northern, western and southern parts of the district, experience sub-tropical climate.  

The district is influenced by the South- West monsoon and rainfall is assured during summer, but differs greatly in intensity from area to area within the district.  The average rainfall ranges from 1200 mm to 3000 mm per annum.

Tourist Place

West Khasi Hills District offers a lot of scope for adventure tourism in terms of trekking, rock climbing, angling and the like. It has a number of peaks to be scaled, bridle paths to be trekked and water ways for canoeing. Besides,  a  number  of cascades formed along the river courses add to the natural beauty of the district. There  are  also  a  number  of  attractive picnic spots and camping sites.