Tura, Meghalaya

Tura
Town
Tura 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
Vehicle registration	ML
Climate	Cwa

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, 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 and Climate

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).

Climate data for Tura, Meghalaya(1950-1985)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	31.5 (88.7)	35.9 (96.6)	37.2 (99)	38.5 (101.3)	39.4 (102.9)	36.9 (98.4)	39.1 (102.4)	36.8 (98.2)	37.2 (99)	36.6 (97.9)	34.0 (93.2)	30.7 (87.3)	39.4 (102.9)
Average high °C (°F)	23.0 (73.4)	25.2 (77.4)	29.3 (84.7)	31.2 (88.2)	30.1 (86.2)	29.1 (84.4)	28.8 (83.8)	28.8 (83.8)	29.1 (84.4)	28.8 (83.8)	26.6 (79.9)	23.8 (74.8)	27.82 (82.07)
Average low °C (°F)	11.5 (52.7)	13.4 (56.1)	17.4 (63.3)	20.4 (68.7)	20.7 (69.3)	21.3 (70.3)	22.2 (72)	22.1 (71.8)	21.6 (70.9)	19.6 (67.3)	15.9 (60.6)	12.9 (55.2)	18.25 (64.85)
Record low °C (°F)	2.5 (36.5)	5.0 (41)	6.5 (43.7)	10.1 (50.2)	10.6 (51.1)	10.1 (50.2)	12.6 (54.7)	12.6 (54.7)	12.6 (54.7)	10.6 (51.1)	8.1 (46.6)	4.1 (39.4)	2.5 (36.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	8.7 (0.343)	11.0 (0.433)	53.4 (2.102)	147.8 (5.819)	402.8 (15.858)	611.5 (24.075)	628.3 (24.736)	458.8 (18.063)	377.4 (14.858)	210.7 (8.295)	28.5 (1.122)	2.4 (0.094)	2,941.3 (115.798)
Source: Indian Meterological Department[2]

Demographics

Garo tribe make up the majority of tuna population. As of 2011 India census,^[3] 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 56%: male literacy is 70%, and female literacy is 67%. 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). Christianity is the main religion, more than 90% of the Garos are Baptist. The Garos have a matrilineal and matrilocal society. Hajong and Koch tribe also Native People of Meghalaya and they are HINDU (religious).

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. ICFAI University Meghalaya, Tura

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

14. Sikkim Manipal, Tura

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 Na·kam Bitchi (it is dry fish made with chillies and soda), Wak Pura (it is Pork cooked with crushed rice, Kapa (meat fried with soda and boiled with fresh garden spices).The common delicacies are Rice cakes called sakkin (made with locally grown sticky rice and sesame seed)and pitta (made with crushed sticky rice and jaggery. There are many variety of locally made drinks. Minil bitchi or Mi bitchi (Rice Beer) (made of fermented sticky rice or normal 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. Aam Pabuni : It is annual harvest festival of Koch tribe celebrate during Buddha Purnima. About 35 km from Tura in a village called Koch Gandhipara, near Garobadha near bank of CHENGA-BENGA lake.

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, Janera 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

1. Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Tura
2. "Climatological Information for Tura, Meghalaya", Indian Meterological Department. Web: .
3. "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