Mechukha or Menchukha (In Memba dialect, 'Men' means Medicine, 'Chu' means Water -streams, rivers, etc. & 'Kha' means Snow; Meaning "the land blessed with medicinal snow-fed water- river & streams") is a town, assembly constituency and subdivision, situated above sea level in the Mechukha Valley of Yargep Chu/

Siyom River The Siyom River is a right tributary of the Brahmaputra (Dihang or Siang) in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The Siyom rises on the south of the main ridge of the Assam Himalaya not far from the border with Tibet. The Siyom initially flows ...

Shi Yomi district Shi Yomi district is one of the 23 districts of Arunachal Pradesh state in northeastern India. Shi-Yomi district was created on 9 December 2018 by dividing the West Siang district when northern areas along the China border were made into a newly ...

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...

state of India. Before the 1950s, Mechuka valley was known as Pachakshiri. Line of Actual Control (

McMahon Line The McMahon Line is the boundary between Tibet and British India as agreed in the maps and notes exchanged by the respective plenipotentiaries on 24–25 March 1914 at Delhi, as part of the 1914 Simla Convention. The line delimited the resp ...

) India-Tibet border 29 km north of Menchuka separates Indian territory and Chinese territory. Mechukha has a AGL airstrip. Reachable by one of the strategic

India-China Border Roads India-China Border Roads (ICBRs, ICB Roads) is a Government of India project for developing infrastructure along the Sino-Indian border by constructing strategic roads, including bridges and tunnels. The ICBR project is largely in response to C ...

, it is located 47 km northwest of district head office Tato and 187 km north of

Aalo Aalo, formerly Along, is a census town and headquarter of the West Siang district district of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located from Likabali, which is at the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It is also an Advance La ...

Background

Etymology

The name ''Men-chu-kha'' means medicinal water of snow where ''men'' is medicine, ''chu'' is water and ''kha'' means ice in the local language. Menchukha has been popularly spelled as "Mechuka".

History

Mechuka is part of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. Prior to the construction of the modern road, the only access to the village was via an airstrip, used by the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

to supply goods to local people. During those times (adi)ramo people use to trade with tibet like mithun for a salt and medicines. Horses were their main means of travelling. People often sell horse for money, those time who used to have lot's of cattle were regarded as rich.

Politics

Mechuka is an election constituency of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. As of June 2019, the MLA elected from Mechuka constituency is

Pasang Dorjee Sona Pasang Dorjee Sona (born 6 November 1972) is an Indian politician from the state of Arunachal Pradesh. He represents 33rd Mechukha Assembly constituency. Sona was elected for 3rd consecutive time as MLA from 33rd Mechukha Assembly Constituency ...

Demographics

Menchukha/Mechukha Valley is home to the people of the

Memba The Memba are a people of Arunachal Pradesh. The Memba population is currently around four to five thousand. They mainly live in the districts of Shi Yomi, West Siang and Upper Siang. Some also in nearby Tibet. The religious life of the Memba r ...

and Adi people. Other local people include Tagin tribes. The current MLA (August-2016) of Mechuka constituency is Pasang Dorjee Sona. Religions practiced in the valley include

Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

Donyi-Polo Donyi-Polo (also Donyi-Poloism) is the designation given to the indigenous religion, of animistic and shamanic type, of the Tani and other Tibeto-Burman peoples of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in Northeast India. The name "Donyi-Polo" means "Su ...

ism, and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Mechukha is known for both its religious and historical significance. The 400-year-old Samten Yongcha monastery of

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

Buddhist sect is a contemporary of the much-revered Tawang Monastery.A research report claimed that foundation of the Samten Yongcha monastery is older than that of Tawang Monastery. The languages spoken in Mechuka are Tshangla, Adi, Tagin, Hindi, and English. There is no evidence of Tshangla still being spoken in Menchukha valley. Instead, the people speak Memba, which is a Bodish language made up of a mixture of various Bodic varieties (dwags-po, kong-po, brag-gsum mtsho-'khor), East Bodish Tawang Monpa, Tshangla and some Tani loans. Some Memba people still speak Tawang Monpa.In and around the periphery of Mechukha town and especially Mechukha Circle, population is dominated by Memba tribe. The largest tribe's of Shi Yomi district is (Adi) bokar mainly residing in the Monigong circle, Memba inhabating the valleys of Mechukha ,libo and ramo inhabating the Tato circle, most of the people speak adi in Shi yomi district after that memba and then tagin.

Transport

Mechuka Airport

The Indian Air Force maintains an airstrip, known as the

Advanced Landing Ground Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) were temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II during the liberation of Europe. They were built in the UK prior to the invasion and thereafter in northwest Europe from 6 June 19 ...

(ALG) in Mechukha. The airstrip is used frequently to bring in vital supplies from cities in Assam via

Antonov-32 The Antonov An-32 (NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft. Design and development The An-32 is essentially a re-engined An-26. It is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the ...

aircraft and helicopters. The runway was renovated, strengthened, upgraded to a concrete runway and extended to 4,700 feet in 2017 by the government. The area has a significant military presence, which also creates some employment opportunities for civilians. There is a twice a week helicopter service under the UDAN scheme on Monday and Saturday. Government of Arunachal Pradesh has invited bids from the private airlines to operate a 9-seater fixed-wing air service which will not be under the UDAN scheme (c. May 2018).Arunachal Pradesh plans fixed-wing flight service to Mechuka, closest to China border

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

, 15 May 2018. On 3 Jun 2019, An Indian Air Force Plane Carrying 13 went missing after taking off From Assam toward this airport.Air Force Plane Carrying 13 Missing After Taking Off From Assam
/ref> The wreckage of this aircraft was found in Siang circle sometime on 11 June 2019 and has been confirmed to District officials by IAF. The wreckage was spotted by an MI17 helicopter that was on search & rescue mission since last 8 days.

Highways

Mechukha has recently been connected by a strategic road to Tato and Aalo (formerly called Along), leading to increased development in the area. Mechukha has since become a subdivisional headquarters. The proposed Mago- Thingbu to Vijaynagar Arunachal Pradesh Frontier Highway along the

, (will intersect with the proposed East-West Industrial Corridor Highway) and will pass through Mechuka, alignment map of which can be see
here
an
here

Tourism

Mechukha is gradually becoming a popular tourist destination in Arunachal Pradesh due to its scenic beauty, exotic tribes, gentle hills and snow-capped mountains and

(locally known as Yargyap Chu). The Siyom River, which flows through Mechukha also provides a scenic view in the valley. The major tourist attraction here is a 400-year-old Buddhist Monastery, which is located at a hilltop in the westernmost part of Mechukha. Numerous ancient statues can also be found here. Accommodations are available at Tourist lodges and Inspection Bungalow and a few hotels are also coming up to meet the increasing influx of tourists from the country and abroad. The people of Adi tribe have resided in the Menchukha valley since time immemorial in the periphery of Mechukha valley in the villages of Gapo, Pauk, Padusa, Lipusi, Hiri, Purying, Rapum, Charung, Rego and Kart gumjipang, barang gang, shorang dhem, etc. A new giant

flying squirrel Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight in the same way as birds or bats, but they ar ...

was discovered and described from the area by noted naturalist of North East India Dr. Anwaruddin Choudhury, who named Mechuka's giant flying squirrel ''

Petaurista mechukaensis The Mechuka giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista mechukaensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. First described in 2007 from East Himalayan forests at altitudes of in the region of Mechuka of north-central Arunachal Pradesh in ...

''. The IUCN RedList has classified it as a Data Deficient species. Menchukha landscape, river Siyom at the foreground

Menchukha landscape, river Siyom at the foreground (2)

References

External links

{{Geographic location, Centre = Arunachal Pradesh , North = {{flagicon, PRC

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...

, China , Northeast = , East = {{flagicon, Burma

Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...

, Burma , Southeast = {{flagicon, Burma

Sagaing Region Sagaing Region ( my, စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and lon ...

, Burma , South =

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

, Southwest =

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, West = {{flagicon, Bhutan

Eastern Zone Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

, Bhutan , Northwest = Cities and towns in Shi Yomi district