Newsletter No. 65;
IRBMS
Bhalukpong circle of West Kameng dist, of River and Tenga River. Located near the Dirang
Arunachal Pradesh, and Sonepur dist, in Assam. It Chhu is the Dirang Dzong, set up by the Monpa
is tribe about 500 years ago.
one
of
the
major
tributaries
of
river
The Dirangchhu
Brahmaputra, joining it near Tezpur. The river is emerged from the Sangti River that flows through
about 264 km. long, its drainage basin is about lots of valley including the Sangti Valley.
11,843 sq.km large. The Kameng forms the With a steady flow of rapids and some deep gorges,
boundary between East and West Kameng dists., it is no wonder that this river is attracting lots of
and is also the boundary between the Sessa and traveler ever since it was open.
Eaglenest sanctuaries to its west, and the Pakke
Tiger reserve forest in the east. The Daffla hills are Kolong River:
east and the Aka hills (home of Aka tribe) are west The Kolong River or Kailang River is a tributary of
of the Kameng River. the river Brahmaputra – which diverts out from the
The eastern half of the Eaglenest-Sessa wildlife principal
sanctuaries is drained by the Tippinala (Tippi Jaknalabandha in Nagaon district, Assam and
river) which joins Kameng river at the village of meets the same as Kolongpar near Guahati. The
Tippi on the Bhalukpong-Kameng dist. viz. the river is about 250 km. long, and flows through
Tenga, Bichom and Dirang Chu – are some of the district Nagaon, Morigaon and Kamrup. On the
tributaries of the Kameng river. way, various small tributaries meet.
The river had an important historical significance. In early ages, the river created havoc by flooding
During medieval period (i.e between 13th to early the lowland areas in the present Nagaon and
16th Century), it marked the borders between the Morigaon districts during rainy season, as it used
Chutiya Kingdom, and the Kamata Kingdom. to receive water not only from the smaller streams,
Later, in the 16th Century, after the annexation of but also from the overflowing Brahmaputra River.
the Chutiya Kingdom by the Ahoms and the Sometimes in 1960, a major flood caused a threat
downfall of Kamata Kingdom, it acted on the to existence of Nagaon district itself.
border between the Ahom kingdom and the Baro – The river is almost dry in dry season – no water
Bhuyan rule. could be seen on the river bed. The North-East
There are tributaries of the Kameng River, most of centre for Environmental Research (NE-CFRD) and
which are flowing from the west section of Kameng Development is said to have performed a feasibility
River. These rivers are the Dirang Chhu, Bichom study for rejuvenation of the river so that
river
in
Hatimura
region
of
6
Integrated River Basin Management Society