Zeilad Water Body Complex and Barak Falls
(Gifts of nature of high economy and tourism potentials)
- Part 2 -

Dr H Nandiram / GS Laitonjam *

Khoudong Water Fall - Tamenglong :: Pix - Gaikhamdim Marangmei

Barak Stepped falls:- Seven stepped falls of the Barak spread over a space of 500m on gigantic sandstone rocks formed by many hard sandstone slabs of Barail Series (13 to 25 million years back). The characters of the slabs are almost the same as that of the overhang rock of Kounu and at the peak of Saramati ( presently in Nagaland) where the boundary pillar No. 138 stands. Within this space of 500m the water of the Barak drops down approximately 26m and receives that of the Marui, one of the tributaries of the Barak.

The first three falls are , comparatively, insignificant ranging from a turbulent current to 1m high stepped falls. Local people treat these falls as one and collectively is known as ' Ashaphum' ( meaning the bridge of deity of death) . This portion of the river is the shallowest part in the area with pebbles and exposed rocks in the riverbed. The fourth fall drops down 4-5m in two steps. It falls with a roaring noise into a deep pool.

The fifth one is the broadest of all the falls and it spreads across the river. The fall, with a height of approximately 7m, is as wide as the water of the entire breadth of the river. The sound for pouring down huge volume of water into a deep pool with the whirlpools and eddies is deafening. It is graceful and worth seeing sight. Generally, it falls in two columns. But, in lean season it breaks up into three columns.

The 6th and 7th falls situate within a distance of 200m from the 5th fall. The 6th fall is obstructed by a huge boulder, as a result the falling water rushes underneath the boulder. Since the falling water is not easily visible from the western bank the height of the fall is not known but we estimated it around 3m. The last major step, perhaps, one of the most attractive and awesome falls, is the highest in all seven steps. There, the whole water of the channel with only a width of 6m tumbles down about 11m over a deep pool of water. The waterfall is in between two steep rock walls of which the huge western rock wall forms an overhang forming a cavern likes structure underneath.

Just beyond the 7th fall the Marui river merges with the Barak from the west and flows down taking a sharp turn to the left side ( towards the South-east). In this area of the turning, there are big boulders of variable sizes making the water more turbulent.

The faults ( Breaks at right angles to the river course) and variable subsidences of the slab create the so called stepped falls. The site of Zeilad Water body complex on the western flood plain at a higher altitude and stepped faults exposing layers of the sedimentary rocks of different characters at the adjacent river bed may be as good as pages of Earth Science to a student of the very field.

Navigable zone of the Barak in Tamenglong

This portion of the Barak , particularly from a little north of Barak-Tuipa junction upto the place before reaching stepped falls is not a white water zone and the current is very slow specially during lean season ( 5 months commencing from December). The present average breadth is around 40m and the depth is 4m. It is a long course covering 9-10 villages- Zeiladjang (south –west), Taijijang, Bamgaijang, Dahingphai, Vanchengphai, Saramba, Ajuram ( Wet rice cultivated valley), Namtiram, Elpavaram etc successively towards the north. Major part of it is in the area of Taijijang ( on the western bank), Bamgaijang ( on the eastern bank) area of Thuilon (on the west) and Khongjaron ( on the east)

This portion of the Barak course mentioned above is an ideal water body, which can,very well, be exploited for water sports. Moreover, a good number of the people residing in and around of this course are expert in swimming and canoeing.

Flora:- The vegetation on either side of the Barak in this zone of Tamenglong District is of mixed type of elements of wet and dry sub-tropical forests. Another significant components are bamboo brakes representing a secondary vegetation in places of primary forest of the past.

The common bamboo species are
Moubi ( Melocana bambusoides),
Unan (Dendrocalamus longifimbriatus),
Basi-waa ( Teinostachum sp.),
Chingwaa ( Dendrocalamus longispathus),
Ching Saneibi ( Bambusa balcooa),
Utangwaa ( Bambusa-tulda),
Lee-waa ( Bambusa sp.),
Wa-moo (B. Khasiana),
Khokwaa (B.nana),
Nachei-Waa (B. pallida),
Uriwaa ( Dendrocalamus sp.) etc.

The common giants reeds, growing abundantly on either bank of the river are Sing-ut ( Erianthus ravennae), Singnang ( Saccharum procerum), Tou ( Phragmites karka), Yenthou ( Arundo donax) etc. Wild gingibers too cannot be left unmentioned.

The common wood species in the standing forest are
Uninghthou ( Phoebe hainesiana).
Tolhao ( Terminalia myriocarpa),
Wang ( Melina arborea),
Lakoi ( Macaranga denticulata),
Khabi Lakoi ( Mallotus Roxburghianus),
Cham ( Artocarpus chaplasa),
Ungang ( Amoora wallichi),
Chingthrao ( Bauhinia variegata),
Heina Kundo (B. Alba),
Heibam ( Ficus roxburghii),
Heiri Kokthong ( Artocarpus lakoocha),
Ushoi ( Schima wallichii),
Na-U ( Podocarpus nerifolia) etc etc.

Other common plants in the secondary forests are four –five species of Kuthab and Hameibon ( Clerodendron sp) and Pheija achabee- chadabee ( Wendlandia spp). A worth mentioning one in the degraded forest of wet subtropical elements are lianes of Leguminous family.

Being a zone where hot-humid climatic condition is prevailing the area is favourable for adapting varieties of orchids.

To be continued..