District At a Glance (2011 Census Report)

Area: 324 sq.kms. Population: 286687

Language: Manipuri Villages: 82

Male: 143203 Female: 143484

Density/km2: 821 Sex Ratio (Per 1000): 1002

The district of Thoubal, which occupies the bigger portion of the eastern half of the Manipur Valley, takes the shape of an irregular and triangular with its base facing north. It lies between 24°30’24.688″ N to 24°43’16.689″ N latitude and 93°53’17.016″ E to 93°53’18.118″ E longitude. It is bounded on the north by Imphal West and Imphal East district, on the east by Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal districts, on the south by Kakching and Tengnoupal districts . Its average elevation is not very much different from the rest of the Manipur Valley which is about 790 metres on an average above the sea level. Although the district is a part of the valley, the area of the district is not entirely plain. Many rivers flow through the district and many lakes dot its surface. Some of the which are closely inter-twined with many folk tales and stories, of which mention may be made of the fishing and other episodes of the love story of the legendary Khamba-Thoibi. In fact, all important lakes of Manipur, with the exception of Loktak, are in this district. The State of Manipur used to supplement its meager resources from the annual lease of the lakes in the past.

Although little is known about its ancient history, the district has in recent past, seen many bloody and disgraceful battles. Through the district pass an international road that leads to Myanmar (Burma) via Moreh and Tammu and this road is, in the days before the independence of India, the route of many military expeditions and counter-expeditions by the forces of Manipur and Burma, and later on, by that of the British Government. It is in this district, at Khongjom, that the last battle of the independence of Manipur was fought in April, 1891 by a few and poor-equipped soldiers of Manipur against the mighty the British empire. It is not just an irony of the fate that Major Paona Brajabashi and others met their last days in this battle.

The battle symbolizes the honourable deed of a heroic sacrifice for his motherland, knowing fully well that the fight would mean sure defeat. Among the natural calamities that had occurred in the past, mention may be made of the serious cholera epidemics of 1931 which took a heavy toll of the district population. Although the epidemic was widely spread throughout the Manipur valley it was just felt in the district. The district came into existence in May, 1983 through a notification of the Government of Manipur, ( Secretariat :Revenue Department Order No.6/1/73-R (Pt.VII) dated May 24, 1983) ( Manipur Extraordinary Gazette No. 76 of the same date) under the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act.1960. By the said
notification, Thoubal sub-division of the erstwhile Manipur Central District with all its administrative units was transferred to form a new district under the name of Thoubal with its head-quarters at Thoubal.

The district has three community development blocks namely (1)Lilong (2)Thoubal and (3) Wangjing Tentha  It has 6 main towns. namely, Lilong ( Thoubal ), Thoubal,Yairipok, Shikhong Sekmai, Wangjing Lamding, and Heirok are municipalities under Thoubal District.

Brief Agriculture Profile of the Thoubal district

The district is endowed with all the topographical features viz., hills, uplands, medium lands and low lands as well as lakes. The total geographical area of Thoubal district is 514 sq. Km (51400 ha). Out of this total area 22310 ha were under agricultural practice. The location of the district ranges from 23°25’ N & 24°45’N Latitude in North and 93°45’18.118″ E longitude in East at an altitude of 781 m at sea level.The district has diverse soil type ranging from clay, clay loam, red lateritic, silty loam to peat and muck soil. Soil pH ranges from 5.2 to 6.0. The average rainfall of the district is 1725 mm. The rain-fed area in the district is about 14450 ha and irrigated area of about 7273 ha. Irrigated farming system which constitutes about 20% of the cultivated area embraced a broad range of food and cash crop production. The cropping intensity of the district is 149%. Rice is the major crop followed by oilseed, mustard and pulses- field pea. The average yield of rice is 5.6 t/ha which is the rice bowl of Manipur.

The major production system available in the district are agriculture where rain alone is dominating, horticulture comes to next, followed by agriculture-animal husbandry-fishery and fishery alone in low lying and lake areas of the district. The agro-climatic zone of the district is sub-tropical plain zone.