Pasighat.. you beauty!

I joined training institute as a core faculty in our office in Aug 2024. Since then, travelling to new places has become a routine affair, esp. for conducting field training on various themes. One such training programme was an induction course for our newly joined officers which was hosted in Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh and partly in parts of Meghalaya spanning over 34 days. The theme was ‘Geological Mapping in the Himalayan Terrain’. There were a total of 3 batches with 29 trainees in each batch. Overall, it was a huge responsibility which involved learning as well as fun.

Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh(AP)

Pasighat is a quaint little town nestled along the foothills of the Arunachal Himalayas, in East Siang District of AP. Infrastructure facilities are limited. But, we managed to contact a very reliable team which provides accommodation, fooding and transportation. These are pretty much everything we need to conduct our trainings smoothly.

The landscape in and around Pasighat is unique. It is situated along the banks of Siang river(main channel of Brahmaputra) over the river terraces. Siang river just comes out dissecting the hills and reaches the plains where it widens many folds suddenly. The area is tectonically active.

Scenerary around Pasighat

The Siang river at this point as well as further upstream is extremely beautiful. The aqua green hue of the water cutting accross the rock formations along the valley is breathtaking. I was mesmerised by the beauty if this place. During our field traverses we came across isolated pristine river beaches where few people have set foot on.

Drawing a scene from Pasighat

During leisure times, we used to visit Komli ghat, a stretch developed by the local authorities as a park. It is quite a refreshing walk. The sunset view  is just awesome. Only thing which I did not like is drinking alcohol openly in small groups by some localites. That can be checked by the authorities. Not that, they misbehaved, but still this was not a pleasant experience.

I tried to do a simple painting of this place and did not want to skip any of the scene. Hence used both side of the page and did a single scene. I dedicate this drawing to my senior(s) from office who  inspired me to take up this challenge , and all the trainees from Batch- F and Batch-A, 48th OCG with whom I had fond memeories while mutually learning the evolution of the mighty Himalayas.

I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z“ and this is the “P” post.

F.A.Q’s about Pasighat

Why is Pasighat famous?

For it’s tasty oranges.

How to reach Pasighat?

By train: to Murkongselek station

By air: Pasighat has a military operated airport. Weekly twice flight schedule is there. But it can get cancelled anytime. Not reliable. Next closest airport: Dibrugarh airport.

Which season is best for Pasighat?

October to March. It gets quite hot and humid during summer.

What language is spoken in Pasighat?

Adi language of Arunachal Pradesh. But they understand Assamese and Hindi to some extent.