Kalay ( my, ကလေး), also known as Kale, is a town in the

Sagaing Region Sagaing Region ( my, စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and lon ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. It is located upstream from Mandalay and Monywa on the Myittha River, a tributary of the Chindwin River. The town is the district headquarters of the Kalay District. It has gained importance with trans border movement enabled between Myanmar and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

following the Tamu–Kalay section of

India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway (IMT Highway), long route, is a highway under upgrade under India's Look East policy that will connect Moreh, India with Mae Sot, Thailand via Myanmar. Imphal- Mandalay-Bangkok route, consisting of ...

built by the Border Roads Organization of India under the Look-East Connectivity policy. Consequently, Kalay is now one of the fastest developing towns in Myanmar. Kalay has several notable prisons, to which people from all across the region are transported.

Etymology

The earlier name of the town ‘Karlaymyo,’ renamed now as ‘Kalaymyo,’ means “a town surrounded by four satellite towns” in the

Burmese language Burmese ( my, မြန်မာဘာသာ, MLCTS: ''mranmabhasa'', IPA: ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Myanmar (also known as Burma), where it is an official language, lingua franca, and the native language of the Burmans, the coun ...

. "Kalaymyo" means "town of children" in Burmese Language.

History

According to tradition, Kalay was established as a town on 3 February 966 (Sunday, the 5th of waning of

Tabodwe Tabodwe ( my, တပို့တွဲ) is the eleventh month of the traditional Burmese calendar. Festivals and observances *Full moon of Tabodwe **Harvest Festival () **Mon National Day Rakhine tug of war festival, Yatha Hswe Pwe. *Pagoda fes ...

328 ME). A votive tablet unearthed in Kalay in 1983, with a Mon language inscription, refers to the "

Aniruddha Aniruddha ( sa, अनिरुद्ध ') is a character in Hindu mythology, the son of Pradyumna and Rukmavati, and the grandson of Krishna and Rukmini. He is said to have been very much like his grandfather, to the extent that he is co ...

, the Great King". During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Kalay was an important regrouping point for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

during their retreat from Burma in 1942 because of the relatively easier access to India along the

Manipur River __NOTOC__ Manipur River ( my, မဏိပူရမြစ်), also called Kathe Khyoung (ကသည်းချောင်း), is a river in India's Manipur state that flows into Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciatio ...

(the alternative was to march through malarial forests from

Kalewa Kalewa is a town at the confluence of the Chindwin River and the Myittha River in Kale District, Sagaing Region of north-western Myanmar. It is the administrative seat of Kalewa Township. Climate Kalewa has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen ...

to Tamu). On September 19, 2007, 200 monks marched through the streets of Kalay as a part of the

2007 Burmese anti-government protests The Saffron Revolution ( my, ရွှေဝါရောင်တော်လှန်ရေး) was a series of economic and political protests and demonstrations that took place during August, September, and October 2007 in Myanmar. The pro ...

. Over the next few days, the monks were joined by thousands of people of the Chin ethnic group. On September 24, students marched from Kalay University with posters and protested, demanding the release of

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...

and two other political prisoners. In July 2015, a monsoon rain triggered a natural disaster, and a state of emergency was declared in four regions of the country. The disaster caused a flash flood in Kalay and surrounding areas. Kalay was devastated by the disaster.

Geography

Geographically, the distinctive feature of the town is that the

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted tow ...

passes through it. This point has been marked by the milepost 55/56 near Kyansitgon village. Set in terrain that has an average elevation of above mean sea level, the town has a picturesque backdrop of the Laytha Hill in the east and the Chin Hills in the west. The city is drained by the Myittha River that flows in a south–north direction, the Nayyinzaya River that flows in a north–south direction, and the Manipura River (also called the Nunkathe River) from across the international border with India; the last-named river has its origin in Manipur state of the

north-east India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

Climate

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

climate dominates the town. Temperature variations are significant, with summer months from March to May recording and the winter months in the range of . The average annual temperature is reported to be . The average annual rainfall is of the order of .

Demographics

The population of Kalay is estimated to be 400,000, comprising 35%

Bamar The Bamar (, ; also known as the Burmans) are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group native to Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Southeast Asia. With approximately 35 million people, the Bamar make up the largest ethnic group in Myanmar, constituting 68% of th ...

, 55% Chin and 10% other nationalities and foreigners. The valley town, with its tranquil atmosphere, is inhabited in equal numbers by the Chin community and

s. The original settlers are Shans.

Economy

The economy of Kalay is dependent upon agriculture but it is also an industrial town. Cars, jeeps, trucks, fire engines, trailers, three-wheeled motorcycles are manufactured in the Kalay Industrial Estate. The town is the hub of trading activity with India across the border. Kalay Township is unable to meet its own food requirements, although it exports food to neighbouring towns and cities. It has under paddy, under

peas The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

, and under cooking oil crops. The irrigation dam in RāZāJo village will provide water to grow more crops under irrigated conditions. Kalay Township has

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in E ...

(''

Pterocarpus indicus ''Pterocarpus indicus'' (commonly known as Amboyna wood, Malay padauk, Papua New Guinea rosewood, Philippine mahogany, Andaman redwood, Burmese rosewood, narra and asana in the Philippines, angsana, or Pashu padauk) is a species of ''Pterocarpus ...

''), the large timber tree ''

Shorea obtusa ''Shorea obtusa'', the Siamese sal, is a species of hardwood tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae, native to Southeast Asia. Distribution and habitat ''Shorea obtusa'' is native to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. It grows in relat ...

'', ''

Shorea robusta ''Shorea robusta'', the sal tree, sāla, shala, sakhua, or sarai, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions . Evolution Fossil evidence from l ...

'' and many other species of tree.

Religion

The religious composition of Kalay and the surrounding township is listed as 55 percent Buddhists (mainly Theravada Buddhists), 40 percent Christian (mainly Baptist) and the remaining 5 percent follow other religious practices. The district has 116

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, 508 churches, a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, two

Hindu temples A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

, two Buddhist

seminaries A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

for nuns, five Buddhist nunneries and a

joss house Chinese temple architecture refer to a type of structures used as place of worship of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism or Chinese folk religion, where people revere ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors. They can be classified as: * '' miào'' () or '' ...

( Chinese communal temple ).

Social infrastructure

The basic social services of education (primary to high school level, and universities within close commutable distances from the town), health services (general hospital, military hospital and traditional medicines' hospital), modern telecommunication network (telephone, Internet, telecommunication satellite network etc.), Media network of news papers (simultaneous coverage of news with Yangon), TV and radio services are well established in the town. The town's electricity needs are met from the MāNePu Hydroelectric Project, which also helps promote industries.

Transportation

The strategic road between India and Myanmar, built with assistance from the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, is the Tamu–Kalay road. The Border Roads Organization, a parastatal organization of the Government of India, started construction of this road in 1997, which was opened by the Foreign Minister of India in 2001. This road has facilitated trans-border movement between India and Myanmar. Apart from this road, the town is well connected by a network of roads with Kalay, Gangaw, Monywa, Yagyi and Mandalay. The important road route during the rainy season is the Kalay-Gangaw-Monywa-Mandalay road and during winter it is the Kalay-Myoma-Yagyi-Monywa-Mandalay Route. Rail services also operate between Kalay and Gangaw. This line passes through the Pountaung Pounyar Tunnel. Inland water transport is also available up to Kalaywa, which is short of Kalay. On this route, Morlike, Homalin, Khunte, Mingin and Monywar are also accessible. There is an airport at Kalay, an extension of a British-built Second World War airstrip that was used to ferry troops and supplies into Myanmar during the British reconquest of Myanmar in 1945. The airport is located in the middle of the town.

Myanmar National Airlines Myanmar National Airlines ( my, မြန်မာအမျိုးသားလေကြောင်း ), formerly Union of Burma Airways, Burma Airways, and Myanma Airways, is a state-owned airline and the flag carrier of Myanmar, based in ...

Air Bagan Air Bagan Limited ( my, အဲပုဂံ) was an airline headquartered in Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar. It operated domestic scheduled services within Myanmar, as well as to Thailand. Its main bases were Yangon International Airport and Mand ...

, Air Mandalay and

Air KBZ Air KBZ ( my, အဲကေဘီဇက်) is a privately owned domestic Myanmar airline based in Yangon. Air Kanbawza, otherwise known as AIR KBZ, was established in June 2010. The airline began operations with a Yangon- Bagan- Nyaung Oo- Mandal ...

operate regular air services to and from

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

, Mandalay and Kalaymyo. The airport is at an elevation of ; it has a wide and long runway with blacktopped surface. Data current as of October 2006. Source:

DAFIF DAFIF () or the ''Digital Aeronautical Flight Information File'' is a comprehensive database of up-to-date aeronautical data, including information on airports, airways, airspaces, navigation data, and other facts relevant to flying in the entire w ...

References

{{Sagaing Division . Populated places in Kale District Township capitals of Myanmar