Tibetan Settlement, Tenzingang

A brief story Tenzingang Tibetan Settlement, Bomdila, A.P.

Profile:

Established in 1972 to rehabilitate initially 34 Tibetan refugees who resides at Dhirang, Khalagtang and other nearby border areas of Tibet mainly as an agricultural settlement. The present population is around 877

Location:

It is situated in sub-himalayan range in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh in India, fairly close to the Indo-Tibet border or North East of India. Tenzingang is situated on a hilly area surrounded by snow flaked mountains of Himalayan ranges with thick rainforest. ===Tenzingang Tibetan Settlement is situated in sub-himalayan range in West Kemang district of Arunachal Pradesh near the border of Assam and Bhutan. It is about 200 Km from Tezpur town of Assam.

Altitute, Temperature and Rainfall

The altitude of the place is about 6000 ft above sea level with an average minimum temperature of 35° to maxi- mum 40° centigrade in summer and minimum 0° to 3° centigrade during winter with mild warm in day time. The average rainfall of the area is around 1543 mm in a year. Due to hilly area, landslide is most prominent during rainy season which starts from end of May - September mid. In between Feb - May and Sept - Nov. are the best seasons to visit.

Conveyance/Communication:

The nearest railway station to Tenzingang is Guwahati which is around 200 kms away from the settlement. The nearest airport is in Tezpur, about 120 kms away from the settlement. Foreigners are required to get a Special Inner Line permit to visit Tenzingang due to its being a restrcited area.

Livelihood of the Settlement

Agriculture and horticulture are the main sources of livelihood for the settlement people with tradional way of farming blended with modernised technique but free from any use of chemicals. The cultivation of crops are mainly dominated by paddy, millet, barley, vegetables. But in these days farmers have diverted their crops and started cultivating apple and kiwi as cash crops. Apple and kiwi production is very famous in the region by its quality. Products are being sold in the nearby towns of Assam and Kolkata

Setup:

The settlement consist of 4 camps with an average of 30 - 50 families in each camp with total household of 150. The State government has provided initially total 2123 acres of land by which 400 acres of land is being used for agriculture purpose and 300 acres of land is used for infrastructure. Remaining 1423 acres of land is still covered by forest area.

Facilities available in settlement:

There is a Middle school with 370 children in the settlement which is governed directly by Central Tibetan School Administration, New Delhi. It also has a small health clinic providing modern allopathic medical treatment for minor diseases as well as a Tibetan traditional medical center for the settlers. It has one left-over Gyutoe monastery consisting of 25 monks. The main monastery was shifted to Sidhabari, nearby Dharamsala in 1998. The settlement have a Multipurpose Cooperative Society that is registered under state co-operative socieites Act. The society owns various sections like tractor, fair price & general store, flour mill, carpet centre, hand made paper and dairy sections which are running successfully. Besides, the Cooperative Society is also working as a middleman in trading of apple and kiwi product that are purchased from farmers to avoid monopoly of other private traders.

Problems:

The main prolem being faced by the settlers is its inaccessibility to the outer world due to lack of proper communication, poor electricity, roads and transportation facilities. Alternative and sustainable source of income and generation of employment opportunity to youth are also necessary not only for economic and social reasons, but also for the preservation of the Tibetan culture and tradition, in order to make the settlement viable in the long run.

Taken from CTRC Newsletter June 2005