Gangtok district

Coordinates: 27°19′N 88°36′E / 27.317°N 88.600°E / 27.317; 88.600
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Gangtok District
Vidhan Sabha constituencies
  • Khamdong-Singtam
  • Shyari
  • Martam-Rumtek
  • Upper Tadong
  • Arithang
  • Gangtok
  • Upper Burtuk
Area
 • Total964 km2 (372 sq mi)
Elevation
610 m (2,000 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total283,583
 • Density290/km2 (760/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 codeIN-SK
Vehicle registrationSK-01, SK-08
Major Highways
Largest StadiumPaljor Stadium, Gangtok
Websitegangtokdistrict.nic.in

Gangtok District

state of Sikkim. It was renamed in 2021 as a result of administrative reorganisation of the state, which also saw three subdivisions of the East Sikkim district spawned off as a separate Pakyong district.[3]

The headquarters of the Gangtok district is

Namchi District
in the west.

The civilian region is administered by a

districts of Sikkim.[4]

History

East Sikkim was part of the kingdom of Sikkim for most of its history. In the 19th century, the district was under the rule of the

Bhutan War, the territory was virtually under the command of the British forces. After India's independence in 1947, the area was part of the kingdom of Sikkim under the protection of India. During the Sino-Indian War
of 1962, the Nathula Pass witnessed a few skirmishes between India and China. In 1975, the Sikkim formally became part of the Indian Union as India's 22nd state. The district was under the occupation of the Nepalese for 30 years in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Geography

View of Kanchenjunga from Gangtok

The district occupies an area of 560 km2 (220 sq mi).

The two important Mountain Passes of East Sikkim are

Jelepla
, both passes connects Sikkim with China.

Military-wise, the district is a very sensitive area with the

People's Republic of China and Bhutan
. Visitors to this region are restricted and just a few areas are open to tourists in the areas east of Gangtok.

Popular tourist locales of East Sikkim and

Younghusband Expedition to Tibet.[5] It saw a tremendous boom in trade during 1950–1959 when the Chinese troops occupying Tibet were supplied through the pass.[6] The pass and Baba Mandir are open to Indian nationals only. To enter this region a special permit is required; the Inner Line Permit has to be obtained one day prior to departure. This permit is made through local tourist offices. Other tourist areas include the town of Gangtok, the Phodong Monastery north of Gangtok and the Rumtek Monastery
.

Other special attractions in the Capital City Gangtok are M G Marg, Hanuman Tok, Ranka Monastery, Himalayan Zoological Park, Palzor Stadium, Tashi View Point, Pakyong Airport view Point. Zuluk And Gnathang Valley are famous attractions in East Sikkim.

Wildlife sanctuaries

Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary, and Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary two famous wildlife sanctuaries lies in the East Sikkim district.

Rivers and lakes

Teesta river near Gangtok
Tsongmo Lake Gangtok District Sikkim
Menmecho Lake Gangtok District Sikkim

Rivers

River Teesta, the largest river of state flows in East district from Dikchu to Singtam
.

River Jaldhaka originates from Kupup and flows south east towards Bhutan, West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Other major rivers of east sikkim are Ranikhola, Ratey River, Roro River, Rangchang Khola etc.

Lakes

List of important lakes of Gangtok district and

Pakyong District
are:

  • Lake Menmecho
  • Lake Tsomgo
  • Elephant Lake
  • Aritar Lake
  • Manju Lake
  • Mulkharka Lake
  • Nathula Lake
  • Gnathang Heart Lake
  • Yalk-la Lake. etc.

Flora and fauna

Variety of plants and wildlife are found in the East Sikkim and

Snow Leopard, Himalayan black bear, Clouded leopard, Large Indian civet etc.[7]
Forest Department, Government of Sikkim has also confirmed the presence of
Pakyong District in January 2019.[8]

Demographics

Shri Viswa Vinayaka Mandir temple in Rhenock, Pakyong District

According to the

640).[4] The district has a population density of 295 inhabitants per square kilometre (760/sq mi) .[4] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 14.79%.[4] East Sikkim has a sex ratio of 872 females for every 1000 males,[4] and a literacy rate of 84.67%.[4]

Religion in Gangtok district (2011)[10]
Hinduism
 
 62.74%
Buddhism
 
 25.55%
Christianity
 
 8.25%
Islam
 
 2.19%
Other or not stated
 
 1.35%

Languages of Gangtok (2011)

  Nepali (65.59%)
  Hindi (8.63%)
  Sikkimese (8.16%)
  Lepcha (3.41%)
  Bhojpuri (2.25%)
  Bengali (1.68%)
  Limbu (1.55%)
  Tamang (1.49%)
  Sherpa (1.14%)
  Others (6.1%)

Hinduism is followed by majority of the people in the Gangtok district. Buddhism followed by a considerable minority, while Christianity is the third largest religion, 40% of its adherents live in Gangtok. Islam is the fourth-largest religion and is mainly found in migrants in urban centres, mainly Gangtok.[10]

Languages

At the time of the

Tibetan as their first language.[11]

Assembly constituencies

The district is divided into 7

assembly constituencies
.

  • Khamdong-Singtam
  • Shyari
    (BL)
  • Martam-Rumtek
    (BL)
  • Upper Tadong
  • Arithang
  • Gangtok
    (BL)
  • Upper Burtuk

Divisions

Administrative divisions

Subdivisions of the East Sikkim district

East Sikkim is divided into three sub-divisions till June 2021. In June 2021, the two subdivisions of

Pakyong District:[12]

Important Towns and Cities

Gangtok at night

The major towns and cities of Gangtok District are

Transport

Roadways

East Sikkim is connected with wide road network managed by

Border Road Organization, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited
and State PWD.

East Sikkim has the following National Highways:

Airways

Pakyong District is the nearest airport from East Sikkim. The airport has daily direct flight services from New Delhi, Guwahati and Kolkata
.

Railway

Pakyong District
.

References

  1. ^ "District Collectors". sikkim.gov.in.
  2. ^ "Sikkim Assembly passes bill to create two more districts". The Telegraph (Kolkata). 10 December 2021.
  3. ^ "3 sub-divisions of East Sikkim to form Sikkim's newest district Pakyong". Eastmojo. 21 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  5. ^ Waddell, L. Austin (1905), Lhasa and its Mysteries, London: John Murray, p. 106 – via archive.org
  6. ISBN 978-0-8203-4512-3
  7. ^ Indian Ministry of Forests and Environment. "Protected areas: Sikkim". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  8. ^ Singh, Shiv Sahay (9 January 2019). "Caught on camera: Sikkim's Royal Bengal Tiger". The Hindu.
  9. ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Barbados 286,705 July 2011 est.
  10. ^ a b "East Sikkim District Religion Census 2011". Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  11. ^ 2011 Census of India, Population By Mother Tongue
  12. ^ Sikkim Administrative Divisions (PDF) (Map). The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, New Delhi, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  13. ^ "Doklam effect: Sikkim to get new all-weather highway".
  14. ^ "NHIDCL floats tender for road works in Sikkim - Construction Week India". 14 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Rajnath Inaugurates Alternate Alignment on NH-310 in Sikkim | Nation". 25 October 2020.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gangtok_district&oldid=1199545099"