Districts of India : Thoubal

Lack of employment opportunities for youths
Need of women empowerment programmes in the rural areas.
Low literacy rate among women.
The region is highly prevalent in HIV-infected individuals. Requires more awareness and intervention in this matter.

Thoubal District
Area, Population & Sex Ratio
Geographical Area : 514.0 Km2
Population in Thoubal (Census 2011)
Total Population
Total : 420,517
Male : 209,674
Female : 210,843

Disabled population
Total disabled population : 5285
In seeing : 1841
In speech : 556
In hearing : 424
In movement : 1445
Mental : 1019

Rank ( VoiceOfBharat.org Analysis )
Backwardness : Does not figure in list of 447 backward districts
Sex Ratio Rank : 508
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : A
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 537 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 258 (Census 2001)
Minority : Yes

The District of Imphal and Bishnupur. It has an area of 514 sq.kms. as supplied by the Surveyor General of India. Its average elevation is not very much different from the rest of the Manipur Valley which is about 790 metres on an average above the sea level. Although the district is a part of the valley, the area of the district is not entirely plain. Many rivers flow through the district and many lakes dot its surface. Some of the which are closely inter-twined with many folk tales and stories, of which mention may be made of the fishing and other episodes of the love story of the legendary Khamba-Thoibi. In fact, all important lakes of Manipur, with the exception of Loktak, are in this district. The State of Manipur used to supplement its meager resources from the annual lease of the lakes in the past.
    Although little is known about its ancient history, the district has in recent past, seen many bloody and disgraceful battles. Through the district runs an international road that leads to Myanmar (Burma) via Moreh and Tammu and this road is, in the days before the independence of India, the route of many military expeditions and counter-expeditions by the forces of Manipur and Burma, and later on, by that of the British Government. It Is in this district, at Khongjom, that the last battle of the independence of Manipur was fought in April, 1891 by a few and ill-equipped soldiers of Manipur against the might of the British empire where the sun does not set, as the saying goes. It is not just an irony of the fate that Major Paona Brajabashi and others would meet their last days in this battle. The battle symbolizes the honourable deed of an extreme sacrifice for his motherland, knowing fully well that the fight would mean sure defeat.
    Among the natural calamities that had occurred in the past, mention may be made of the serious cholera epidemics of 1931 which took a heavy toll of the district population. Although the epidemic is widely spread throughout the Manipur valley it is felt in the district.
    The district came into existence in May, 1983 through a notification of the Government of Manipur, ( Secretariat :Revenue Department Order No.6/1/73-R ( Pt.VII) dated May 24, 1983) ( Manipur Extraordinary Gazette No. 76 of the same date) under the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act.1960. By the said notification, Thoubal sub-division of the erstwhile Manipur Central District ( now Imphal district ) with all its administrative units was transferred to form a new district under the name of Thoubal with its head-quarters at Thoubal. Later, in November, 1983, Thoubal was bifurcated into Thoubal and Kakching sub-divisions comprising of Kakching and Waikhong Tahsils with all their existing villages ( Manipur Gazette Extraordinary No. 343 dated November, 25, 1983 ), the headquarters of Kakching sub-division being Kakching.
   The district has two community development blocks one within each sub-division, each block coinciding with its respective sub-divisional areas minus the statutorily notified urban portion. It has 9 main towns. namely, Lilong ( Thoubal ), Thoubal,Yairipok, Shikhong Sekmai, Wangjing, Heirok, Kakching, Kakching Khunou and Sugnu and a part of Samurou whose major portion is in the Imphal District. Thoubal and Kakching are Municipalities.

Rivers

Important rivers that flow through the district are the Imphal and the Thoubal. The Thoubal river originates in the hill ranges of Ukhrul and is an important tributory of the Imphal river. On its course, it passes through Yairipok and Thoubal before joining the Imphal at Irong near Mayang Imphal. The Imphal river rises in the hills of Senapati district and flows south. It forms the boundary demarcating line of Thoubal district on its north and the west. During the dry seasons these rivers are lean and thin but, during the rainy monsoon periods these rivers are very wild and frequent floods occur causing widespread damage to the paddy fields, property and life. These rivers were once good means of transport for valuable merchandise. Other rivers in the district are the Wangjing, the Arong and the Sekmai. These rivers originate in the hills of Ukhrul district. The Arong river flows through Khangabok and falls into Kharung Pat. The Wangjing river flows west via Heirok and Wangjing before joining the Loushi Pat. With the advent of cheap and faster means of road transport these rivers no longer serve as routes of transportation of goods. Still they provide good building materials in the shape of sand, pebbles and boulders and a means of livelihood for a large number of people inhabiting along their courses.

Cilmate

On the whole, the district has an equitable and pleasant climate. Rainfall is relatively abundant and widespread. The rainy season starts in June with the onset of the south-west monsoon and last upto September. Intermittent rains continue even upto October along with the retreat of the monsoon. As in the rest of the State, the district is also under the effect of the so-called ' Vagaries of the monsoon' with the alternating droughts and floods. During the rainy season the rain water in the hills quickly flow down to the valley and all the rivers and small streams rises to the full brim, frequently flooding its embankments. As the lakes became full, the low lying areas around them are easily amenable to flood. Drainage is slow and takes a long time. The cold season last from December to February. During the winter months light rainfall occurs under the influence of the north-east monsoon, March and October are by far the most pleasant months in the year. April and May are not hot season followed by occasional thunder storms. Of Late, some changes in the climate calendar in the state are observed which some expert meteorologists attribute the cause as mainly due to deforestation in the hills surrounding the valley.
The only centre which records authentic meteorological records in the district is the Rice Research Centre, Wangbal. Rainfall recorded there in 1989 is 1306.80mm as against a mean annual rainfall of 1318.39mm during 1983-89. For the sake of comparison with its neighboring Imphal district, the corresponding figures recorded at the State Mechanized Farm at Lamphelpat ( Imphal ) are 1391.20mm and 1243.50mm respectively. The summer months are never oppressive with the average maximum temperature fluctuating between 32°C to 35°C during April-June, the mercury seldom going beyond 37°C. In December-February with the start of the cold winter months the average minimum temperature fall to 6°C to 4°C, the temperature going below 0°C.

Roads

The district has a fairly developed system of road transport. All towns and important villages in the district are connected either by the National or State or district or village roads. The total road length in the district in 1987 is 506.40 km which compares very favourably with the total district area 514.sq.km. It is the only district in the state where the road length per km. is almost at per with the area per sq. km. of area against the state, average of only 19.17 km. The National Highway No. 39- Indo-Burma Road, passes through the heart of the district and connects Lilong with Pallel via Thoubal. From Thoubal an important district road goes east to Sikhong Sekmai via Yairipok. On the southern portion, the state highway connects Kakching, Wabagai and Sugnu with Imphal via Mayang Imphal. The district has 35 km. of National highways, an equal number of kms. of state high way 60.40km. of district roads and 376 km. of village roads. The widening of the district and state highways, construction of a number of bridges and culverts and metalling of kaccha roads will go a long way in further improving the road transport systems in the district.