Bhairabkunda : Probable Tourist Hotspot in Assam

Bhairabkunda is a popular picnic spot in Udalguri district in the State of Assam, India. It is situated on the border of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh, near the Bhutanese town of Daifam.

The Jampani River, originating in Bhutan, and Bhairabi River merge here to form Dhanshiri River. Dhanshiri river is a major tributary of Brahmaputra river. An irrigation project was constructed on Dhanshiri river at Bhairabkunda. A guide dam was constructed inside Bhutan for this project. The construction of the project took much more time than planned due to strong currents and terrorism. The Project is situated in Udalguri District within jurisdiction of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District (B.T.A.D.) aimed to provide assured irrigation to an area of 41.683 hectares (103.00 acres) in five development blocks viz. Udalguri, Rowta, Kalaigaon, Mazbat and Bechimari under Udalguri Civil Sub-Division.

A Bhutanese small sub-divisional administrative town called ‘Daifam’ is here known for the wine trades. It was a fastly growing town area in Bhutan but lost its pace after the violent democracy support movement started in the late eighties in Bhutan. Although, a very development faces a halt in the area a new dawn is expected after the creation of BTAD. The BTAD authority has taken interest to develop this area. The people prominently considered it as a suitable picnic spot for the new year.

The Hindu devotees visit the place in ‘Makar Sankranti’   where they take bath in the meeting point of three rivers   and   offer pujas in the Shiva temple.

According to proverbial tales there was a kunda where the   devotees used to offer pujas. The fishes in this kunda used   to  take the rice thrown by the sacred devotees and sprinkle   the holy water for peace while they used to avoid impure   people. In another tale, it is said that the extreme devotees   of   shiva- The Bodos used to pry God performing Kherai dances in the ancient ages. The God realizes himself among the devotees and all the musical instruments were gathered in a house of Deuri (worshipper).

Once, the house ablazed and all the musical instruments were disappeared. ‘Bhim of Panch Pandavas too was lived here during his ‘AGYATAVASA’ the proverbs quoted.Down the ages the three Bodo socialist heroes Laothai, Bambur and Adang gwras were reigned the area. They were divided equal shares of land among their citizens. The area is prominently inhabitated by Bodo, Nepalese,  Adivasis and Assamese Communities in the areas of BTAD, Arunachalee and Nepalese and Bhutias in the Bhutan.

The physiography of the Bhairabkunda is little differ than other hilly area in Assam because it  is situated with the wonderful sites of nature   in  the tri-junction of Bhutan, Assam and Arunachal   Pradesh,   is considered to be a God’s gift for the human   being. It is located at the northern bed, some 22 km from   the    district headquarter of Udalguri town. Also   prominently    known as important tourist place of Shiva’    for  the pilgrims.   Devotees visit the temple frequently and   offer pujas to   achieve success in their life. Marriageable   couples prefer the   place for their romantic intimacy. The   Shiva temple   geographically lies into the Bhutanese   territory  but it is an   important pilgrimage for the Indian visitors.
          The Bhairabkunda is not only the meeting place of geographical borders but it is also for the river Jia Dhansiri, Bhairavi and Daifam.

The meeting point of rivers looks like a ‘Kunda’ (worshipping place of Lord Shiva). Thus, probably it got the  name Bhairabkunda. The Bhairabkunda is a small town area  under the Udalguri district of BTAD area in Assam, is a  transit place for the eastern province of Bhutan.

 Bhairabkunda is a medium size village located in Udalguri of Udalguri district, Assam with total 50 families residing. The Bhairabkunda village has population of 273 of which 144 are males while 129 are females as per Population Census 2011.

In Bhairabkunda village population of children with age 0-6 is 31 which makes up 11.36 % of total population of village. Average Sex Ratio of Bhairabkunda village is 896 which is lower than Assam state average of 958. Child Sex Ratio for the Bhairabkunda as per census is 1385, higher than Assam average of 962.

Bhairabkunda village has higher literacy rate compared to Assam. In 2011, literacy rate of Bhairabkunda village was 78.10 % compared to 72.19 % of Assam. In Bhairabkunda Male literacy stands at 81.68 % while female literacy rate was 73.87 %. As per constitution of India and Panchyati Raaj Act, Bhairabkunda village is administrated by Sarpanch (Head of Village) who is elected representative of village.

Table 1: Population data at a glance

Particulars	Total	Male	Female
Total No. of Houses	50	-	-
Population	273	144	129
Child (0-6)	31	13	18
Schedule Caste	0	0	0
Schedule Tribe	132	69	63
Literacy	78.10 %	81.68 %	73.87 %
Total Workers	97	87	10
Main Worker	76	0	0
Marginal Worker	21	19	2

Bhairabkunda Village, with population of 27 is Udalguri sub district's the 34th least populous village, located in Udalguri sub district of Udalguri district in the state Assam in India. Total geographical area of Bhairabkunda village is 0 km² and it is the 5th smallest village by area in the sub district. Population density of the village is 910 persons per km².3

Nearest town of the village is Udalguri and distance from Bhairabkunda village to Udalguri is 16 km. Pin code of Bhairabkunda village is 784509. The village comes under Bhairabkhunda panchayat. Udalguri is the sub district head quarter and the distance from the village is 16 km. District head quarter of the village is Udalguri which is 16 km away.

The village is home to 273 people, among them 144 (53%) are male and 129 (47%) are female. 52% of the whole population are from general caste and 48% are schedule tribes. Child (aged under 6 years) population of Bhairabkunda village is 11%, among them 42% are boys and 58% are girls. There are 50 households in the village and an average 5 persons live in every family.

Table 2: Caste wise male female population 2011 - Bhairabkunda

	Total	General	Schedule Caste	Schedule Tribe	Child
Total	273	141	0	132	31
Male	144	75	0	69	13
Female	129	66	0	63	18

Population of the village has decreased by -56% in last 10 years. In 2001 census total population here were 621. Female population growth rate of the village is -43.4% which is 20% higher than male population growth rate of -63.4%. General caste population has decreased by -71.5%; Schedule Tribe population has increased by 4.8% and child population has decreased by -61.7% in the village since last census.

Table 3: Growth of population (percent) 2001 to 2011 - Bhairabkunda

	Total	General	Schedule Caste	Schedule Tribe	Child
Total	-56%	-71.5%	0%	4.8%	-61.7%
Male	-63.4%	-76.9%	0%	0%	-69.8%
Female	-43.4%	-61.4%	0%	10.5%	-52.6%

As of 2011 census there are 896 females per 1000 male in the village. Sex ratio in general caste is 880, and in schedule tribe is 913. There are 1385 girls under 6 years of age per 1000 boys of the same age in the village. Overall sex ratio in the village has increased by 316 females per 1000 male during the years from 2001 to 2011. Child sex ratio here has increased by 501 girls per 1000 boys during the same time.

Table 4: Change in sex ratio 2001 to 2011 - Bhairabkunda

	Total	General	SC	ST	Child
Change	316	352	0	87	501
2011	896	880	0	913	1385
2001	580	528	0	826	884

Total 189 people in the village are literate, among them 107 are male and 82 are female. Literacy rate (children under 6 are excluded) of Bhairabkunda is 78%. 82% of male and 74% of female population are literate here. Overall literacy rate in the village has increased by 22%. Male literacy has gone up by 13% and female literacy rate has gone up by 42%.

Table 5: Change in literacy rate 2001 to 2011 - Bhairabkunda

	Total	Male	Female
Change	22.0%	12.3%	42.3%
2011	78.1%	81.7%	73.9%
2001	56.1%	69.4%	31.6%

Bhairabkunda has 36% (97) population engaged in either main or marginal works. 60% male and 8% female population are working population. 47% of total male population are main (full time) workers and 13% are marginal (part time) workers. For women 6% of total female population are main and 2% are marginal workers.

Table 6: Percentage of working population - Bhairabkunda

	Worker	Main Worker	Marginal Worker	Non Worker
Total	35.5%	27.8%	7.7%	64.5%
Male	60.4%	47.2%	13.2%	39.6%
Female	7.8%	6.2%	1.6%	92.2%

With the arrival of picnic time, Bhairabkunda ,with all her virgin beauty is once again ready to welcome tourists and picnic lovers. Bhairabkunda has been a tourist destination since long back.But the tourist traffic flow had been disrupted during the days Assam and Bodo movements in eighty’s and ninety’s.But with peace returning to BTAD area people have started visiting  Bhairabkunda  again. Bhairabkunda has been unique always as the triangular meeting point of Assam,Arunachal and Bhutan.Fast flowing  Dhansiri river  with crystal waters has been additional attraction always.The JFMC man made forest (Gedsimani Forest) with more than 14 lacs well grown tree saplings has been additional bonus point for tourists visiting Bhairabkunda. It has been a story of great success for villagers of six villages who had started something very great in the year 2005 to proceed with plantion of trees under JFMC (Joint Forest Management) scheme. Plantation was done during 2007 to 2012.It has been a continous procees when people of the six villages, students, woman etc had been planting more than 14 lakhs of saplings till 2012 (which could be a world record).All the saplings had been well protected by the members.Its a matter of pleasure that wild animals like elephants, leopards, mangoos, python ,deer,wild boar,various species of snakes etc.A flying snake of paradise species was also seen in the forest last year in 2015.With rivers criss-crossing the verdant Assam-Bhutan-Arunachal border and the Bhairabkunda Reserve Forest providing some undulating trekking trails, there is definite scope for watching nature in a peaceful atmosphere.

Bhairabkunda Eco Tourism & Conservation Society has taken up initiative foe the convenience of the visitors.Bimal Narzari,Advisor of the Society told this correspondent that their members had already cleaned up the site with better waste management.According to him more than a thousand people used to visit Bhairabkunda daily  during picnic season.Stephen Narzari,president of the society added that special steps would be taken to control traffic and violence.All the teams would be briefed about cleanliness and peace maintainance of peace at the time of their arrival.”Water sports facilities like rafting on Dhansiri river will be additional attraction to visitors”,he said.

On the other hand members of the JFMC forest are also busy to welcome visitors to the spectacular new man made forest spreading  to an area of 5500 bigha lands touching Arunachal and Bhutan.”People who love nature and want to see it close would be happy to visit us”,said Ismail Daimari,secretary of the JFMC.While talking to this correspondent,Daimari also mention that visitors specially nature lovers,hikers and people with family members would love the forest with so many small sreams and trees.He also said that their male and female members would take special cares of the need of woman and children and would guide all who are interested in  JFMC forest.

Bhairankunda , Known for its most scenic beauty ,situated at the tri-junction of Bhutan , Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and washed by the crystal blue water of Jampani ,Dhansiri and Bhairabi , Bhairabkunda has been famous as an enchanting picnic spot , hemmed as it is on the three sides by lofty hills and caressed constantly by water of the three rivers .

         From a very ancient time ,there was a route from Bhairabkunda between the hills of Arunachal Pradesh up to Tibet. This route reached the coast of the Mediterranean sea joining Turkey and Afganisthan through India . Iron , bufallo horn ,lac , hides were exported and things like ivory , sulphur , keshor , colours , silver , rock salt ,blankets etc were imported from here .

 
        The area takes various hues and forms in characteristic with the bountiful nature all around . The seasonal changes have their exoitic impact on the area as the mood of nature changes .
Bhairabkunda is always the most enlivening, recharging the soul with  the divine spirit .

Reference:

[1]           https://www.assamtimes.org/node/18077#sthash.nBCfznhl.dpuf

[2]           http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/frame_found_sr2/tns/tn-30.pdf

[3]           http://www.ufv.ca/geography/student-handbook/field-study-and-field-trips/

[4]           http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/issue44-research01/

[5]           http://geography.org.uk/resources/fieldwork/