Lohit district

It was known earlier as the Mishmi Hills. The district is named after the Lohit River and consists of the river valley and hills/mountains to the north and south. ==History==

During medieval times, the present district was under the control of the rulers of the Chutiya Kingdom. The Chutiyas controlled the area from the early 13th century to the 16th century and during the 19th century, it became one of the last territories to be brought under British control after the punitive Abor and Mishmi Expedition in the first decade of 20th century. The ruins of the hill fort Bhismaknagar is from the Chutia period. In June 1980, Dibang Valley district was split from Lohit (and has since been bifurcated again to create the new Lower Dibang Valley district). On 16 February 2004, Anjaw district was carved out from the northern part of Lohit district bordering Tibet and Myanmar, with its headquarters at Hawai. Anjaw was carved out under the Arunachal Pradesh Re-organization of Districts Amendment Bill. Namsai was split from Lohit in 2013. ==Geography==

Wakro is an important sub-division of this district. It is a disyllabic word originated from the local dialect Miju Mishmi. Another important sub-division of Lohit is Sunpura, which is located near the Assam-Arunachal border. Lohit district occupies an area of and has a population of 143,478 (as of 2001). ==Divisions==

Four Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly constituencies are located in this district: Tezu, Wakro, Sunpura. All of these are part of Arunachal East Lok Sabha constituency. ==Transport==

The area is highly inaccessible, and it was only in 2004 that a permanent bridge has been made operational across the Lohit at the holy site of Parashuram Kund, giving a round-the-year connection to Tezu. About east of Tezu lies the small town of Hayuliang, and this is slated to become the headquarters of a new district. The road along the Lohit runs right up to the small garrison town of Walong just south of the Chinese border, site of the famous Battle of Walong in 1962. ==Demographics==

According to the 2011 census the erstwhile Lohit district has a population of 145,726, This gives it a ranking of 601st in India (out of a total of 640). Religion ==Flora and fauna==

In 1989 Lohit district became home to the Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of . It is the home to some of the endangered flora and fauna. The district has been found to be an ideal place for Jatropha cultivation, which is used for bio-diesel making. In the western part of the district, north of the Lohit River occurs the new subspecies of hoolock gibbon, which has been described and named as Mishmi Hills hoolock H. h. mishmiensis. A new giant flying squirrel named as Mishmi Hills giant flying squirrel also occurs north of the Lohit River. ==See also ==