Tura, Meghalaya
| Tura | |
|---|---|
| city | |
  Tura Location in Meghalaya, India | |
| Coordinates: 25°31′N 90°13′E / 25.52°N 90.22°ECoordinates: 25°31′N 90°13′E / 25.52°N 90.22°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Meghalaya |
| District | West Garo Hills |
| Elevation | 349 m (1,145 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 58,391 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Telephone code | 03651 |
Tura (IPA: ˈtʊərə) is a hilly town and a municipality in West Garo Hills district in the Indian state of Meghalaya. One of the largest towns in Meghalaya, Tura is a valley located at the foothills of the Tura Hills and right below the Tura Peak. The climate in Tura is moderate throughout the year and has a large number of interesting and unexplored areas. The native god Durama was believed to reside in the hills. The name Tura is said to be a corruption (by the British) of the god's name.
It is 220 kilometres from the nearest city Guwahati and is also the district capital of the West Garo Hills district. It is filled with small rivulets and green valleys all around. The principal languages are Garo, Hajong, Koch, Bengali, Nepali, Hindi and English. The city has 4 colleges and a host of good secondary schools. In 1973, the town was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tura.
The capital city of Shillong is 323 kilometres away and can be accessed via buses or the shuttle helicopter service. The border of Bangladesh Dalu, is situated at a proximity of 50 kilometres.
Tura is a cultural and administrative centre of the Garo tribes. To visit popular tourist destinations such as Balpakram, Nokrek and Siju cave, one needs to pass through this town.
There are many water falls and lot of streams in Tura. Some of the water falls are Rongbangdare, Pelgadare, Gandrak Falls etc. Some of the streams are Rangolwari, Nokmawari, Ganol, Datchima etc.
Geography
Tura is located at 25°31′N 90°13′E / 25.52°N 90.22°E.[1] It has an average elevation of 349 metres (1145 feet).
Demographics
As of 2011 India census,[2] Tura had a population of 58,391. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Tura has an average literacy rate of 7%, higher than the national average of 5%: male literacy is 7%, and female literacy is 70%. In Tura, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Connectivity
Tura is situated in the western part of meghalaya which is quite close to the National Border of Bangladesh. Main mode of transport is by road, there are no railways or any scheduled flights from Tura airport. From Guwahati, it is 221 km, through the National Highway 51. Day time Sumo and overnight bus services are available form Guwahati. There is a 3-days-a-week helicopter service available from Guwahati and Shillong, run by Pawan Hans.
Society
Main Residents of Tura are the Garo tribe (Native People). Next comes the Bengalis, Nepalis, Hajongs, Koches, Assameses and other ethnicities. Christianity is the main religion, more than 90% of the Garos are Baptist. The Garos have a matrilineal and matrilocal society.
Schools & Colleges
Schools
1. Tura Public School
2. Kendriya Vidyalaya Tura
3. Sherwood School
4. Aeroville Secondary School
5. Don Bosco Secondary School
6. St.Mary Higher Secondary School
7. St. Xavier's Secondary School
8. Christian Girls' Higher Secondary School
9. Christian Boys' Secondary School
10. Government Boys Higher Secondary School
11. Government Girls' Higher Secondary School
12. Mothers' Union Secondary School
13. Little Flower Secondary School
14. Hawakhana Deficit Higher Secondary School
15. Goudiya Math Vidyapeet
16. New Horizon Secondary School
17. Mt. Sinai Secondary School
18. Tura Town Higher Secondary School
19. Pechon A. Sangma Memorial Police Public School
20. Tura Hindi Secondary School
21. Gorkha Secondary School
22. Nivedita Girls Secondary School
23. L.G.B.Secondary School
24. Akhongre Secondary School
25. Burney Hill Secondary School
26. New Tura Secondary School
27. Hill view Higher Secondary School
28. Montfort Centre for Education
Colleges
1. Tura Industrial Training Institute (Oldest Vocational Institute in North East India)
2.Tura Govt.College ( The oldest college of Garo Hills)
3. Don Bosco College
4. Durama College
5. Tura Polytechnic
6. Tura College of Information Technology.
7. Tura ICFAI College
8. College of Teacher Education
9. College of Home Science (under Central Agricultural University, Imphal)
10. Harding Theological College
11. Martin Luther University, Tura Campus 12. Tura Law College
13. Tura United Christian Academy
Central Institutes
1.Regional Vocational Training Institute
2.North Eastern Hill University, Tura Campus
Food and Drinks
There are many varieties of food available, the common one is the traditional Garo food. Traditional Garo food includes boiled rice, different preparations of Pork, beef, chicken and dry fish. Some of the delicacies of Garo Food are Nakam Bitchi (it is dry fish made with chillies and soda), Wak Pura (it is Pork cooked with crushed rice, Kappa (meat fried with soda and boiled with fresh garden spices).The common delicacies are Rice cakes called sakhin (made with locally grown sticky rice and sesame seed)and minel pitha (made with crushed sticky rice and jaggery. There are many variety of locally made alcoholic drinks. Minil bitchi (made of fermented sticky rice) is one of the most common drink.
Annual Celebrations
1. Wangala : It is a traditional Garo dance; celebrated after harvesting. Wangala is best showcased at the 100 Drums festival which takes place annually, 30 km away from Tura in a place called, Asanang. The men and women are dressed in traditional attire and they dance to beat of the 100 drums.
2. Christmas : It is celebrated in a grand and extravagant way. The party spirit pervades throughout starts from Christmas and continues even after the New Year celebration. So, the entire celebration last for more than a week. The occasion is filled with carol songs, dinner parties, social gatherings and many more events. In short, a week long of Merry making.
3. Durga Puja : Durga Puja, though basically a Bengalee religious festival, is celebrated by all the Hindus of Tura. It is the biggest and greatest socio-cultural and religious festival celebrated in Tura. Durga Puja is usually celebrated in between the last week of September and the 1st week of October and is celebrated in a grand way with pomp and gaiety. Fancy and magnificent clay idols of Goddess Durga with colourfully decorated pandals are the major attraction of this festival. In 2013, Durga Puja was celebrated by 21 puja committees across the length and bredth of Tura town. Thousands of devotees throng the puja pandals for three consecutive days. On the fourth day, i.e., the day of dussera all the idols are paraded together to the bisarjan ghat in Babupara. Such a colorful parade of trucks carrying the idols of the various pandals is a rare scene.
Other annual celebrations like Chhat Puja, Holi and Diwali are also celebrated every year with the same enthusiasm and love.
Media and communications
All India Radio has a local station in Tura which transmits various programs of mass interest.Recently, daily local newspapers viz., The Tura Times and Salantini Ku·rang has been disseminating the information to the whole region of Garo Hills and also to parts of Assam (esp. two districts Kamrup and Goalpara) where the areas are populated with Garo People.
References
- ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Tura
- ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
External links
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