Dibang River, also known as Talo in Idu, is an upstream tributary river of the Brahmaputra in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It originates and flows through the Mishmi Hills in the (Upper) Dibang Valley and Lower Dibang Valley districts.R. S. Envirolink Technologies (July 2016). Cumulative Impact & Carrying Capacity Study of Dibang Sub Basin on Brahmaputra River Valley. Volume I. Prepared for Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Accessed on 16 June 2021. Archived on 16 June 2021.
Etymology The name Dibang, historically also written Dibong, belongs to a group of river names in northeastern India containing the Tibeto-Burman hydronymic element di- or ti-, meaning "water". Sidney Endle specifically listed the Dibong, together with the Dihong, Dibru, Dihing, Dikrang, Diphu and other rivers of the region, as examples of names beginning with the Bodo-Garo word di or doi ("water"). Philippe Ramirez likewise notes that ti- or di- ("water") is a common affix used in Tibeto-Burman languages for river names.
The river has also been identified with the Vrsodaka () of the Kalika Purana. The text places the Kamarupa pitha of Dikkaravasini east of the Vrsodaka and beside the Sitaganga or Svarnadi. Modern scholars have identified the Vrsodaka with the Dibang and Dikkaravasini with the Tamreswari Temple at Sadiya. Shastri translates Vṛṣodaka as a "river of mass flow of water", indicating a river characterised by a large or abundant volume of water. The meaning closely parallels an interpretation of Dibang as Bodo-Garo di ("water") + gwbang ("many" or "plenty"), i.e. a river containing abundant water.
History The lower Dibang valley formed part of the Sadiya-centred Chutia kingdom during the medieval period. Archaeological remains connected with the Chutia rulers occur across the lower valley and adjoining foothills. Jae-Eun Shin notes a fortified site between the Dikrang and Dibang rivers where an inscribed brick bearing the name of the early fifteenth-century Chutia ruler Lakshminarayana was discovered. Important settlements of the wider Sadiya capital region included Barnagar and the fortified hill settlement of Chandangiri, generally identified with Rukmininagar.
Following the Ahom conquest of the Chutia kingdom in 1523–24, the Dibang valley continued to be a centre of Chutia resistance. During a major uprising in 1529, the Ahom Buranji records fighting at Doithang, Marankao and Chandangiri and states that Ahom troops moving downstream along the Dibang defeated the Chutia forces.
The upper Dibang valley has historically been inhabited by the Idu Mishmi people. The river also gave its name to the Dibongia division of the Deori people; according to Acharyya and Mahanta, the Dibongias acquired their name from their former settlement near the Dibang River.
Course
The Dibang originates near Keya Pass on the Indo-Chinese border in the Upper Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh. The drainage basin of the river within Arunachal Pradesh covers the districts of Upper Dibang Valley and Lower Dibang Valley. The Mishmi Hills lie in the upper course of the Dibang which enters the plains at Bomjir, Dambuk etc.
Between Bomjir (Nizamghat) and Sadiya the Dibang has a steep river gradient and exhibits braided channel morphology, with its width varying from . It often changes its course, resulting in flooding and destruction of cultivable land and forests along its banks. The Dibang, with a total length of , enters the River Lohit north of the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park near the Assamese town of Sadiya.
Tributaries The Sisar, Mathun, Tangon, Dri, Ithun and Emra are the major tributaries of the Dibang. The Dibang is also joined by a number of tributaries such as the Airi, Ilu, Imu, Ahi, Ashu, Epipani and Eze (Deopani) rivers during its course. Most of these rivers join it in the upper course in the hills thus giving it a wide fan-shaped catchment region.
Hydro projects As of 2016 there were 18 hydro-electric projects at different stages of proposal and planning in the Dibang basin.
In 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for a 3000 MW dam as part of the Dibang Multipurpose Project in the district of Lower Dibang Valley. Seventeen other dams with power potential between 20 and 4500 MW have also been proposed for the Dibang. The proposed Dibang dam, at , on completion would be among the largest dams in India and among the world's tallest gravity dams has since run into opposition from the Adi, Idu and the Assamese who live downstream of the project.
On 18 July 2019, the Prime Minister chaired Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave the greenlight to continue with the Dibang hydropower project. The renewal has been backed by the electricity the project has the capacity to generate, help with flood control in the region and as a control measure against Chinese hydro projects.
See also Dibang River Bridge Dibang Dam
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