Tinsukia

THE STILWELL ROAD
During the World War-II Japan occupied Burma in early part of 1942. The British troops retreated to Assam. The Japanese cut-off road communication to China and isolated it. The Japanese were moving towards the North.


The project was initially named Ledo Road. There was already a road for light vehicular traffic from Burma rail head of Lashi to Kunming in the Yunan Province of China hurriedly built in 1938 when the Japanese were troubling China. From Kunming, there was a railway to the New Nationalist Capital of Chungking. There was also railway construction between Myitkyina and Mogaung and Myitkyina-Lashio. At the same time Myitkyina air field had to be cleared from the Japanese. This was done by forming two specially trained Forces known as American-Kachin Rangers and Chindit Forces. They located harassed, attacked, killed the Japanese and blew-up their camps and pushed them towards Mandalay. Thus the line was cleared facilitating construction of the road.


Dibru Saikhowa National Park is famous for birds ([see video in youtube[1]) and is one of the bio-diversity-hot-spots with over 350 species of avifauna providing unique habitat for globally threatened species. A safe for extremely rare white winged wood duck and many migratory birds. Its Wild-Horses, called Feral Horses, are precisely sufficient to make the visitor wild.

Digboi boasts of two modern wonders of the world – a hundred-year-old oil field still producing and the world’s oldest operating oil refinery. Tucked amid blue hills and undulating plains carpeted with emerald green tea plantations, Digboi still retains its colonial ambience. It’s simply breathtaking to have a bird’s eye view of Digboi from the famous Ridge Hill point. On clear days, one can also see the snow- covered mountains of the eastern Himalayas.

National Oil Park: Digboi also has an oil museum and a wildlife sanctuary of unsurpassed beauty. Going down the hill, visitors will come across oil derricks of various types and other devices still declaring the glory and marvel of the now outdated innovations of the last forties. If one comes down from the hill on the other side, one will have the greatest sight of his lifetime. One may also bump across a herd of elephants or a Royal Bengal Tiger, besides some rare species of birds.

War Cemetery: the most dramatic event in Digboi’s history took place during the World War II, when the belligerent Japanese came close to within three days marching distance of Digboi. These images come back as one kneels at the headstones at the Digboi War Cemetery.

Margherita: the centre of tea gardens, plywood factories and coal mines, with many picnic spots dotting the sandy banks of the River Dihing. Cool, misty and away from the mainland, breathing in the aroma of fresh tea leaves is an experience, both rare and heartwarming. The tea gardens here are perhaps the best in the world.

Sports: the 18-hole golf course developed by the Scottish pioneers in their immutable style. In fact, Digboi can almost be called a Golfing Resort with as many as eight golf courses within close proximity, each with its own individual character and challenges.