Location Tripura is located in the north-eastern part of India. • Boundaries Tripura is strategically situated between the river valleys of Agartal 1 Myanmar and Bangladesh. The for a narrow neck in the north-TRIP on all sides, except • The State is surrounded by east, where it borders on Assam and Mizoram.
• Physiography The State lies between the River Valley of Burmura, Debtamura, Bongrai, Sakhan and Jampuri, the land rising in height from north to south. About 60% of total area is hilly land and remaining 40% flat lands and accommodate nearly 65% of the population.
• Geography Tripura is a landlocked hilly state in northeastern India with alti-tudes varying from 15 to 940 m above sea level, though the majority of the population lives in the plains. The state extends. between 22°56’N and 24°32’N and 90°09’E and 92°10’E. Its maximum stretch measures about 184 km (114 mi) from north to south and 113 km (70 mi) from east to west with an area of 10,492 sq km. Tripura is the third smallest state of the country.
Although landlocked, Tripura has many rivers including the Manu River which originates here. • Climate The climate of Tripura is moderate temperature with a humid atmosphere. December to February is the cold season, March to May is summer, June to September is the South-West monsoon season.
• Rainfall The average annual rainfall in Tripura is 2100 mm the bulk of which is in the form of thunder showers. The land is subjected to strong winds and thunder storms.
• Rivers Tripura is a mountainous land, cleft by the valley of the rivers. Gomati, Haora, Longli, Juri Deo, Manu, Dhali, Khowai, Muhuri. and Feni.
• History
History of Tripua dates back to the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the pillar inscriptions of Emperor Ashoka. There are no historical records available of Tripura except Rajmala which is the chronicle of the kings of the ruling family of Tripura. According to it, rulers were known by the surname ‘Fa’ meaning ‘father’. There is a reference of rulers of Bengal helping Tripura kings in the 14th century. Kings of Tripura had to face frequent Mughal invasions with varying successes. They defeated Mohammedan Sultans of Bengal in several battles. Nineteenth century marked the beginning of he modern era in Tripura when king Maharaja Birchandra Manikya Bahadur modelled his administrative set-up on the British India pattern and brought in various reforms. His successors ruled over Tripura till 1947 when it was annexed to Indian Union. After Independence, it became a Centrally administered territory. In 1972, this territory attained the status of a full-fledged state along with Manipur and Meghalaya.
• Economy About 54.5% of the land of the State is under forests. Only about 24.3% area is available for agricultural use. The principal crops are paddy, wheat, jute, mesta, sugarcane, potato and oil seeds. Agriculture is being practised in about 2.5 lakh hectares.
• Agriculture & Forest Agriculture and allied activities is the mainstay of the people of Tripura and provides employment to about 64% of the population. There is a preponderance of food crop cultivation over cash crop cultivation in Tripura. At present about 62% of the net sown area is under food crop cultivation. Rice is the principal crop, followed by oilseed, pulses, potato, and sugarcane. Tea and rubber are the important cash crops of the State. Tripura has been declared the Second Rubber Capital of India after Kerala by the Indian Rubber Board. Handicraft; particularly hand-woven cotton fabric, wood carvings, and bamboo products, are also important. High quality timber including sal, garjan, teak and gamar are found abundantly in the forests of Tripura. Tripura has poor mineral resources, with meagre deposits of kaolin, iron ore, limestone, coat but this state has considerable amount of natural gas. The industrial sector of the state continues to be highly underdeveloped. ONGC.has its natural gas gathering station & GAIL has marketing terminals of Natural gas in north, west and south part of tripura. ONGC and Tripura state government going to establish 700 MW power plant at Palatana in south tripura. • Industries Tea is a major industry in Tripura. There are 55 registered tea gardens covering an area of 6045 hectares and producing 54 lakh kg of tea per year. Tripura Tea Development Corporations has started new plantations. A jute mill set up in Agartala under the public sector produces about 20 tonnes of jute products per day and employs about 2,000 persons.
Some Basic Data : Tripura
Date of Formation:- 21 January 1972
Area:- 10,492 sq km
Capital-: AGARTALA
Population (2011):- 36,73,917
Male :- 18,74,376
Female-: 17,99,541
Density (2011):- 350 persons per sq km
Sex Ratio (2011)- 960 female per 1000 male
Literacy* (2011)- 87.22%
Male -91.53%
Female 78.98%
No. of Districts -8
Villages- 858
Towns -23
Principal Cities/Towns- Agartala, Kailashahar, Udaipur
Languages- Bengali, Kakbarak, Manipuri
Per Capita Income – Rs. 24,706 (at current prices, 2005-06)
State Symbols
State Bird : Green Imperial Pigeon
State Flower : Nag Kesar/Nageswar
State Animal : Phayre’s
State Tree : Agar
Members of Legislative Assembly : 60
Members of Lok Sabha : 1
Members of Rajya Sabha: 1
* In September 2013, the State Government of Tripura claimed that the state has surpassed Kerala as the most literate state in India, with a literacy rate of 94.65%.
Handloom weaving is the single largest industry. It is essentially a tribal household industry. The sericulture industry is developing fast. The area under mulberry cultivation is about 500 hectare and the population of cocoon is estimated to be 5000 kg per year. Tripura is abundant in natural gas and a number of gas-based industries have coming up. There are 809 small scale industrial units in Tripura.
• Irrigation & Power Total irrigated area in the State is 64,665 hectares. It is estimated that about 1.17 lakh additional hectares of land will be brought under, irrigation schemes of which 13,000 hectares will be covered by the medium irrigation schemes, 66,000 hectares by the minor irrigation schemes and 38,000 hectares utilising ground water potential. With a 500 MW thermal power project at Melaghan being taken up under the NEEPCO it is expected to become a powersurplus State. Against the demand of power consumption of 130 MW currently 56 MW is being generated from its own power plants. So far 1,971 villages have been electrified. The state has undertaken work on gas-based project unit with total capacity of 42 MW at Rukhia and Baramura. • People Tripura is a land where both tribal and non-tribal cultures have blended beautifully leading to some wonderful achievements. The Bengalees and Manipuris constitute the majority of the population. Apart from these two community, Tripura has 19 different tribes communities. Of the tribes, the important ones are Tripuri or Tippira, Reang, Jamatia and Chakma. Other tribes are Lushai, Mog, Kuki, Garo, Chaimal, Halam, Khasia, Butia, Kunda (incl. Kaur), Orang, Hepcha, Santhal, Bhil etc. Most of the tribes live in inaccessible villages and this scattered isolation of the tribes adds to the difficulty of their economic integration. There has been a steady influx of refugees from Bangladesh and while the refugees found shelter in colonies and depended upon agriculture, the tribals lived a compli-cated life. There are only four religions Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians.
• Education Tripura schools are run by the state government or by private organisations, including religious institutions. Instruction is mainly in Bengali or English, though Kokborok and other tribal languages are also used. Secondary schools are affiliated with the CISCE, the CBSE, the NIOS or the Tripura Board of Secondary Education. Under the 10+2+3 plan, after completing secondary school, students typically enroll for 2 years in a junior college, also known as pre-university, or in schools with a higher secondary facility. Notable higher education institutions of Tripura are Holy Cross College, MBB College, National Institute of Technology, Tripura Institute of Technology, Agartala Government Medical College, Tripura Medical College, Tripura Institute of Paramedical Science, Tripura University, Indira Gandhi National Open University and ICFAI University all located in Agartala and outskirts of it.
Districts of Tripura
District- Dhalai, Area (sq km)- 2,552, Population (2011 census)-3,77,988, Headquarters- Ambassa . North Tripura- 2,821, 4,15,946, Dharamanagar. South Tripura- 2,152, 4,33,737, Belonia. West Tripura- 2,997, 9,17,534, Agartala. Sipahijala – 4 84,233, Khowai – 3,27,391, Gomati- 4,36,868. Unakoti – 2,77,335.
• Arts & Crafts Tripura is famous for cane and bamboowork, specially sitalpatti (flimsy and cool mats); woodcarving and plaques, silver ornaments, brass and bellmetal ware, terracotta work and textiles, specially Lasingphee, a special quilt-like weaving used for making shawls, spreads and coverlets. • Festivals Makar Sankranti festival at Tirthamukh and Unakoti, Holi festival, Ashokashtami festival at Unakoti, Brahmakunda festival at Mohanpur, Rasa festival, Bengali New Year festival, Garia festival, Biju festival, Hazagiri festival, Boat Race and Manasa Mangal festival, Ker and Kharchi festival, Sarad festival, Dewali, Christmas at Jumpui Hills etc.
• Tourists Centres Ujjayanta palace surrounded by lush Mughal gardens, Kamalasagar lake, Brahmakunda famous for winter fairs, Neermahal, a spectacular palace in the middle of Rudrasagar lake are some of the important tourist attractions.