Mangan district | |
|---|---|
 Kangchengyao in Mangan district, Sikkim | |
 Mangan district Location in Sikkim | |
| Coordinates:27°31′N88°32′E / 27.517°N 88.533°E /27.517; 88.533 | |
| Country |  India |
| State |  Sikkim |
| Headquarters | Mangan |
| Government | |
| • District Collector (DC) | Mr. Anant Jain[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 4,226 km2 (1,632 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 610 m (2,000 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 43,709 |
| • Density | 10.34/km2 (26.79/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-SK |
| Vehicle registration | SK-03 |
| Website | mangan |
Mangan district, formerly known asNorth Sikkim district,[2] is adistrict of theIndianstate ofSikkim. Its district headquarters isMangan. It is the seventh least populous district in the country (out of640).[3]
Mangan is the largest of the six districts of Sikkim. The landscape is mountainous with dense vegetation all the way up to the alpine altitude before thinning out to desert scrub towards the northern tundra. Numerous waterfalls astride the main road make the trip to this district extremely picturesque.
The most prominent effect of the steepness of the valleys is the prevalence of landslides that at times drop debris anything between 3,000 and 5,000 ft (900 and 1,500 m) carrying devastation along their course. Most of them are caused either by melting snow beds on top of the mountains or by erosive action of monsoon rains.
Most of the people of the state reside near Mangan, the district headquarters which is about 3,000 feet (900 m) above sea level. Further north the elevation increases with the vegetation turning fromtemperate toalpine totundra. Temperatures range from about 25 °C (77 °F) to below −40 °C (−40 °F) in the extreme high reaches where the altitude is in excess of 6,000 metres or 20,000 feet.Kanchenjunga is the highest peak at over 8,000 metres or 26,000 feet, straddling its western border withNepal and can be seen clearly from the town ofSinghik.[4]
Since 2002, the district has been divided into threeassembly constituencies.
Mangan is known as theLarge Cardamom Capital of the world. The climate and terrain best suit the cultivation of the larger variety of Cardamom here.
The region has many power projects and enjoys almost uninterrupted electricity. The steep gradient and the innumerable lakes on the higher reaches facilitate ideal conditions for generation of hydro electric power.
In 2006 theMinistry of Panchayati Raj named North Sikkim one of the country's 250most backward districts (out of a total of640).[5] It is the only district in Sikkim currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[5]
Most of North Sikkim is restricted to travellers and permits are needed to visit these areas. The area, which shares a sensitive border with thePeople's Republic of China is heavily patrolled by theIndian army. However, owing to the natural environment and scenery, a large number of tourists have started visiting the region.[citation needed] Often unregulated tourism becomes a conservation issue in fragile ecosystem such as high mountains.[6]
North Sikkim is divided into two sub-divisions:[7]
| Name | Headquarters | Number of villages[8] | Population (2011) | Area | Location |
| Chungthang | Chungthang | 9 | 10,038 | 3,285 |  |
| Mangan | Mangan | 46 | 33,671 | 941 |  |
According to the2011 census Mangan district has apopulation of 43,709,[3] roughly equal to the nation ofLiechtenstein.[9] This gives it a ranking of 634th in India (out of a total of640).[3] The district has a population density of 10 inhabitants per square kilometre (26/sq mi).[3] Itspopulation growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 5.66%.[3] North Sikkim has asex ratio of 769females for every 1000 males,[3] and aliteracy rate of 77.39%. 10.62% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 2.25% and 65.70% of the population respectively.[3]
The people are mainly of Lepcha and Bhutia descent. Other groups include the Tibetan community. It also has one of the lowest populated regions of the state.
| Buddhism | 53.35% | |||
| Hinduism | 34.05% | |||
| Christianity | 6.09% | |||
| Kirat Mundhum | 2.11% | |||
| Sikhism | 1.87% | |||
| Islam | 1.86% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.67% | |||
Buddhism is followed by majority of the people in Mangan district. Hinduism followed by a considerable population.[11]
At the time of the2011 Census of India, 31.71% of the population in the district spokeLepcha, 23.24%Nepali, 14.41%Sikkimese, 8.51%Limbu, 6.40%Hindi, 3.63%Sherpa, 2.56%Tamang, 1.75%Punjabi, 1.62%Bhojpuri, 1.22%Rai and 1.08%Bengali as their first language.[12]
Roads are in a poor condition owing to the frequent landslides.
North Sikkim is home to thered panda (Ailurus fulgens), a vulnerable species.[13] This animal is the pride of Sikkim and is also the State Animal. It is generally found between heights of 2000 m to 4000 m. It is as big as a domestic Siamese cat (approximately 2 ft long), has a triangular shaped face with a stripe on its cheek, with red fur and black eyes. It has a sprinkling of white on its back and chest. The tail is bushy, black or brown in colour and long like that of a skunk. They generally live on treetops.
In 1977 North Sikkim district became home toKhangchendzonga National Park, which has an area of 1,784 km2 (688.8 mi2).[14] It shares the park withWest Sikkim district. It is also home to the Shingba (rhododendron)Wildlife Sanctuary, which was established in 1984 and has an area of 43 km2 (16.6 mi2).[14]
212 Liechtenstein 35,236 July 2011 est. The district was under the occupation of the Nepalese for 30 years in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
North Sikkim travel guide from Wikivoyage| State symbols | |
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| Topics | |
| Administration | |
| Districts | |
| Towns | |
| Rivers | |
| Lakes | |
| Glaciers | |
| See also | |
