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CHAPTER-V

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH STATUS: THE CASE OF CHAMPHAI DI STRICT

5.1. Introductory Statement

In the preceding chapters the discussion concentrated on reproductive healthcare

in very broad terms using data drawn from secondary sources and at macro level,

particularly the district and block level situation with regard to availability of healthcare

facilities. However, the macro picture at the district and block level hide the situation

prevailing at ground level. It is necessary now to examine the ground reality with regard

to reproductive healthcare status using information collected from the field. This present

chapter makes an attempt to assess the reproductive health and healthcare status at the

micro level by analysing first hand information collected from selected towns and

villages from Champhai district.

Champhai district has been selected for field study due to its certain unique

characteristics. It shares its boundary with Myanmar on the east that permits a certain

amount of cross border migration from both sides reflected in its population composition

which make the study area more fascinating. The third largest among the district of

Mizoram, it has an area of 3185.83 sq.km and is divided into three blocks. The Mizos are

the dominant tribe though with variations seen in terms of minor clans who still use their

own dialect, say Paihte etc. They are found in certain pocket bordering Myanmar

including the sample village of Vapar. Champhai district supports 108392 persons with a

very high proportion (91.88 percent) being literate (94 percent male and 89.64 percent

women respectively) higher than the state average of 88.49 percent (90.69 percent male

and 86.13 percent women respectively). The district consists of four towns. The level of

urbanization is however low as around 38 percent population lives in urban areas. High

level of literacy, low urbanization level and diverse composition of population are

important dimensions which may have its effects on reproductive health.

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The chapter focuses on spatial characteristics of sample villages/towns,

availability of healthcare, factors determining mother’s health seeking behaviour, general

characteristics of fertility, ideal number of child among mothers and general

characteristic of family planning among respondents.

5.2. Sample Design

A stratified sample design was considered significant to meet the requirements of

spatial variation and socio-economic characteristics of the study areas. Both rural and

urban areas were included in the sample. All the towns and villages were stratified at

different levels. The first level of stratification was based on locational considerations.

Villages and towns were selected from different locations to represent various regions

and variations in locational attributes. The second level of stratification was based on

population size and literacy rate. Table 5.1 provides details about the population size and

literacy rates of the selected towns and villages.

Table 5.1.Sample Design for Towns and Villages Sample Towns and Villages

Population Literacy (%)

TOWNS Khawzawl 9616 98.00

Ngopa 4263 94.00 Champhai 19140 91.00

VILLAGES Samthang 1098 93.98 Tualcheng 750 70.00

Vapar 522 63.00 Source: Economics and Statistics Department. Govt. of Mizoram

As is evident from the table the sample towns are varied in terms of their

population size and literacy rates. The district headquarter of Champhai town support the

largest population of 19140 persons but surprisingly has the lowest literacy rate (91

percent). Khawzawl is a medium size town with 9616 persons and has a literacy rate as

high as 98 percent followed by the smallest town of Ngopa included for field

investigation with 4263 persons and 94 percent literacy rate. In addition three villages

such as Tualcheng, Vapar and Samthang were included in the sample located in diverse

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relief conditions (fig 5.1). Village Samthang is the largest in terms of population (1098

persons) and has the highest literacy rate (93.98 percent). Tualcheng is a medium size

village (750 persons) and has a literacy rate of 70 percent while Vapar is the smallest

among the sample villages with merely 522 persons and the literate segment is a mere 63

percent (table 5.1).

Three towns namely Champhai, Khawzawl and Ngopa were included in the

sample, located in diverse relief areas within the district (fig 5.1). A separate sample

design was adopted for the towns as far as election of households is concerned. The

reason for adopting separate sample design for urban area is that the town wards are quite

large, making it difficult to list all the households. To avoid error of omission or

duplication, two localities, having not more than 500 households were selected for field

investigation.

5.2.1. Spatial Characteristics

Table 5.2 provides a general geographical background of the sample villages and

towns. Two sample towns of Champhai and Khawzawl are located on the hill top while

Ngopa town is situated on the hill slope. On the other hand two sample villages namely

Samthang and Vapar are located on the hill slope while Tualcheng village is located on a

hill top.

Table 5.2.General Geographic Variables of Sample Towns and Villages Sample Towns

and Village TOWNS

Location Latitude and Longitude Average altitude RD Block Champhai Town Hill top 93°15 -30ʹN and 23°15ʹ -30ʹE 1650 m Khawzawl Khawzawl Town Hill top 93°0ʹ- 15ʹN and 23°30ʹ-45ʹ E 1000m Khawzawl Ngopa Town Hill slope 93°0ʹ-15ʹ N and 23°45ʹ-24°0ʹE 1200m Ngopa

VILLAGES Tualcheng Village Hill top 93°15ʹ-30ʹ N and 23°30ʹ-45ʹ E 1050m Khawzawl Vapar Village Hill slope 93°15ʹ-30ʹ N and 23°30ʹ-45ʹ E 1700m Khawzawl Samthang Village Hill slope 93°15ʹ-30ʹ N and 23°0ʹ-15ʹ E° 1700m Khawbung

Source: Altitude and Latitude/longitude from SOI toposheet No 84/E. 1st Edition in 1976

The altitudinal range of sample villages and towns is equally varied. The two

villages of Samthang and Vapar are located at the highest altitude (1700m), followed by

Champhai town(1650m), Ngopa town(1200m) and Tualcheng village(1050m) while

Khawzawl town is situated at the lowest altitude of 1000m above the mean sea level. All

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the sample villages and towns belong to the three rural development blocks; Khawzawl,

Ngopa and Khawbung (table 5.2).

5.2.2. Sample Households

The field survey in all covered six villages and towns and around 33% households

having eligible couples (mother’s age- 15-49) were included in the sample. Both

questionnaire and schedule methods were used for collecting information on household

and maternal health.

Table 5.3.Proportion of Sample Households Towns and Villages

No. of households surveyed

Total households Percentage

TOWNS Champhai 102 311 32.80 Khawzawl 93 281 33.10

Ngopa 76 230 33.04 VILLAGES

Tualcheng 45 135 33.33 Samthang 63 189 33.33

Vapar 33 99 33.33 Total 412 1245 33.09

Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006

The survey covered a total of 412 households having eligible couples from a total

of 1245 householdsi. Interviews were conducted among the mothers aged between 15-49

years (eligible couple) and who had a live birth in the last five years preceding the

survey. However, due to inconsistent responses the total samples included for antenatal

care and postnatal care are not exactly the same. Sample villages have been carefully

selected in such a way that urban and rural areas within a particular district could be

compared.

5.2.3. Availability of Healthcare Facility in Sample Villages and Towns

Disparity in the distribution of maternal healthcare facilities and providers is a

problem in the present study area. As shown by numerous studies factors such as

availability of healthcare facilities, health personnel, accessibility and available

educational institutions are important in the context of reproductive health and hence

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have been taken into consideration for the present study especially for analysing mother’s

health seeking behaviour.

Table 5.4.Availability of Healthcare Facilities in Spatial Dimension, 2006 Sample towns and villages

Sub-Centre

CHC/PHC District Hospital

Health personnel Link Road Highest Institution

TOWNS Champhai 0 km* 0 km* 0 km Doctor(11), nurse(21) Gynaecologist(1) Metalled/Bus College Khawzawl 0 km* 0 km* 152 km# Doctor(1), nurse (5), Health supervisor

(1) Metalled /Bus

College Ngopa 0 km* 0 km* 179 km# Doctor(2), nurse (6) Health supervisor(1),

RCH education officer(1) Metalled/Bus F.W**

Higher Secondary

VILLAGES Tualcheng 0 km* 16km 57 km Health worker(2) Unmetalled/Jeepable High

School Vapar Nil 34 km 34 km Nil Partially

metalled/F.W Bus Middle School

Samthang 0 km* 12km 70 km Health worker(2) Partially metalled/F.W Bus

High School

*Health facility within the village/town **FW= fair Weather road # distance between Ngopa and Aizawl, since people generally prefer to get treatment from Aizawl

Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006

Table 5.4 shows rural-urban variation in healthcare facilities. Understandably

much of the healthcare establishments are concentrated in urban areas particularly in

Champhai town while Ngopa and Khawzawl towns are facilitated by the presence of

Community Health Centre (CHC) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) respectively. These

two towns however are located far from the district hospital that too in a rugged

topography. The two sample villages of Tualcheng and Samthang are facilitated by only a

sub-centre while Vapar had none of the healthcare facilities. The district hospital in

Champhai town has only one gynaecologist. The sample villages are located far away

from the district hospital with poor accessibility in terms of road connectivity. For

example Tualcheng is located 57 km away from the district hospital at Champhai with

jeepable road connection while Samthang village is located farther at 70 km distance

from Champhai connected by partially metalled road. Vapar is located at 34km away

from the district hospital and is without any healthcare facilities. All these factors are

associated with mother’s health seeking behaviour (table 5.4).

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5.3. Sample Towns

Sample towns are Champhai Ngopa and Khawzawl located in different parts of

the district.

5.3.1. Champhai Town

Being the third largest town of Mizoram, Champhai town is one of the most

important district headquarters. It is situated at higher altitude of 1650 metres in the hill

top sprawling on the surrounding slopes lying between 93°15ʹ-30ʹ N latitudes and 23°15ʹ-

30ʹ E longitudes (fig 5.3). It falls under the jurisdiction of Khawzawl rural development

block. The town occupies strategic geographical position as far as the future prospect of

Indo-Myanmar trade relation is concerned as it located close to the dividing border river,

Tiau. Within Champhai town two localities are selected for conducting field investigation

which together account for about 1365 population (2001 census) in more than 311

households. As many as 102 (32.80percent) households having mothers aged between15-

49 were interviewed. The town has a district hospital as well as a few private clinics (fig

5.2). It has metalled road and is also the main centre for economic activities in the

district. Settlements are well spread in a large area of the town and concentrated mostly

along the roads. Sparse distribution of settlement is found near government offices and

army headquarters. Some settlement units are located in very steep slopes and cliff-like

relief. The difficult terrain permits only steps and footpaths. Generally localities in the

outskirt of the town are connected with unmetalled roads and footpath which radiates

from the main road. These localities are particularly constrained with regard to access to

the healthcare facilities, particularly when acute reproductive problems are reported (fig

5.2).

Champhai has 32 educational institutions including one College and some

private English medium schools. It also has Champhai Civil hospital with 60 beds, of

which 6 beds are maternity beds and 9 are postnatal beds. During the survey in January

2006 there were 11 doctors, 4 ward superintendents, 21 staff nurses and 1 gynaecologist

in the hospital.

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5.3.2. Khawzawl Town

This town is located in the central part of the district lying between 93°0ʹ -15ʹ N

latitudes and 23°30ʹ-45ʹ E longitudes at an average altitude of 1000metres above the

mean sea level. Even though situated in relatively low lying areas of the district,

Khawzawl is located on hilltop acting in a linear fashion as nearly all the settlement

spread along the main road of the town. Sparse distribution of settlements is found

around government offices. It consists of 2000 households supporting 9616 persons, of

whom 4661 are females and 4955 are males. Of these, two localities with 281

households were selected and 93 households (33percent) consisting of eligible couples

were surveyed. Metalled road connecting the state capital of Aizawl and district capital

Champhai passing through the central part of the town plays a significant role in

providing health facility to the people of the town. Unmetalled roads and footpaths are

very common within the town for connecting one locality and another. Settlement units

in the town are rather dispersed. Survey had been conducted during February and March

2006 with 93 sample households having mothers aged between 15-49 using structure

questionnaires. Even if Champhai district hospital is closer (42 km) to Khawzawl than

Aizawl (152 km) respondents generally preferred to go to Aizawl for check-up and

treatment mainly due to insufficient healthcare facilities at the former and also due to the

fact that transportation to Aizawl is easier than to Champhai(fig 5.4 and 5.5).

There are 20 educational institutions including one college and private schools

with an overall literacy rate of 98 percent. The lone Primary Health Centre (PHC) which

has been serving more than 10 surrounding villages is equipped with 1 doctor, 5 staff

nurses, 1 sister, pharmacist and laboratory technician besides 1 health supervisor.

5.3.3. Ngopa Town

Ngopa town is located in the northern part of the district. It is rural development

block headquarter, situated at an average altitude of 1200m and lying between 93°0ʹ-15ʹ

N latitudes and 23°45ʹ-24°0ʹE longitudes. It supports a relatively small size of

population, 4263 in all as per 2001 Census records, of whom 1996 are females and 2267

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are males distributed in 793 households. Two localities with 230 households were

selected for survey and 76 households (33percent) having eligible couples were

interviewed. The town had a large number of families, 397 in all living below the poverty

line. As many as 554 houses were electrified. There are 43 public water points, 12 drilled

water points and 197 water connections. Primary data had been collected during April

and May 2006 from 76 households having eligible couples through questionnaires.

With 94 percent literacy rate, there are 12 educational institutions, including 1

higher secondary school as the highest available educational institution in the town.

Besides, there is 1 Community Health Centre (30 beds) served by 2 doctors, nurses and

one reproductive and child health education officer and one health supervisor (fig 5.6). It

has metalled road with fair-weathered heavy vehicles mode of transportations. However,

footpath is the most common network in the town as many localities depend only on

footpath connecting the main road, which sometimes is a serious problem to avail

medical facilities during emergency. Settlements are well spread in the town (fig 5.7).

5.4. Sample Villages

Sample villages include Tualcheng, Samthang and Vapar located in diverse area

within Champhai district.

5.4.1. Tualcheng Village

Located on top of the hill in the highland of northeastern part of the district

Tualcheng village is situated at an altitude of 1050m between 93°15ʹ-30ʹ N latitudes and

23°30ʹ-45ʹE longitudes. The village has an excess of females. Out of the 750 persons

residing in the village, the female population (409) outnumbered male population (341)

and the sex ratio is1068 females per 1000 male. Out of 135 households only 100

households are electrified and there are only three public water points, which are used

and filled with water only during the monsoon seasons. Out of the total households 45

(33percent) households having eligible couples were selected. A sub-centre is the only

health facility available in this village and jeepable road is the only transport

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infrastructure availed by the inhabitants of this small village. Tualcheng village suffers

both economic and physical barriers for improving the health of its inhabitants. The

nearest Primary Health Centre (PHC), Hnahlan lies 16 km away and the nearest hospital,

Champhai is located at a distance of 57 km (fig 5.8).

The village is served by one primary school, one middle school and one high

school, but the literacy rate is extremely low at around 70 percent particularly in the

context of generally high level of literacy in the state as a whole. Majority of the

population did not complete high school and most eligible couples studied up to middle

school or high school as they could not afford higher education mainly due to poverty.

The village extends in an elongated shape with settlements spread along the road and

footpaths are fond common in the eastern part of the village (fig 5.9 and 5.10).

5.4.2. Vapar Village

Vapar is situated on the hill slope between 93°15ʹ-30ʹN latitudes and 23°30ʹ-45ʹE

longitudes. The village is located at a distance less than 20 km away from Myanmar

border. The average altitude is 1700 meters above the mean sea level in the proximity of

Tuithoh river. There are 522 persons in the village of whom 251 are females and 271 are

males distributed in 99 households. Household survey had been conducted during

January and February 2006 for 32 (33percent) eligible couples. Among the sample towns

and villages Vapar is the only village which had no health centre and most of the

vaccinations are given from community hall and sometimes in their respective houses by

health workers who come seasonally from Champhai town (fig 5.7). Respondents

generally visited Champhai for check-up and treatments, which is situated 34 kms away

as there are no other healthcare facilities except sub-centre (i.e. 14 kms away at Ngur

village).

It is interesting to find that out of 99 household 45 families are registered below

poverty line family (48 percent) with one middle school and one primary school resulting

comparatively low literacy rate of 63 percent. As majority of the population belongs to

the Paithte clan, Paihteii dialect is more common, which is different from the common

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dialect of Mizo. The main road, which is partially metalled, is passing through the eastern

fringe of the village and on the western side of this main road is where almost all

settlements are located (fig.5.12). Many footpaths radiate from the main road and

connected other settlements (fig 5.11 and 5.13).

5.4.3. Samthang Village

Samthang is situated in the southern part of the district with an average elevation

of 1700 meters and lies between 93° 15ʹ- 30ʹ N latitudes and 23° 0ʹ- 15ʹ E° longitudes. As

located in the vicinity of the historical monument site of Fiara tui (Fiara water)iii has

better road network compared with other two villages of Tualcheng and Vapar. Fair

weather bus service is available between Champhai and Samthang (70 km). It may be

noticed that out of a total population of 1098 persons, females (555) marginally

outnumbered the males (543) with a sex ratio of 1012. The village has 189 households in

all and a very large proportion of them are poor as 153 households live below the poverty

line. As many as 63 households having eligible couple were surveyed during February

and March 2006.

The village is equipped with a sub-centre, one high school and middle school with

two primary schools. The literacy rate of the village is 93.98 percent. There are three

public water points which provide sufficient supply of water throughout the year. Lying

on the hill slope at high altitudes, Samthang village gets fresh air and has moderate

climate during summer and winter (fig 5.14). The main road is partially metalled form a

loop shape from which many footpaths, unmetalled roads and steps are spread connecting

settlements. Majority of the settlements are located between the main loop-shape roads

(fig5.15).

5.5. Determinants of Mother’s Health Seeking Behaviour

Many factors determine mother’s health seeking behaviour during pregnancy,

delivery and after delivery. The following sections discuss, inter alia, some factors

controlling the attitude of mothers during reproductive periods. Factors like family size,

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educational attainment of mothers, women’s mass media exposure, fertility, family

planning and mortality are included.

5.5.1. Family Size

Family size of the sample villages and towns has been categorised into three

types- families which are small with 1-4 members, medium with 5-6 members and large

with 7 members or more.

Table 5.5.Family Size of Sample Towns and Villages (%) Size of Family Small (1-4) Medium (5-6) Large (7 +) Total

TOWNS Champhai 14.71 69.61 15.69 100 Khawzawl 8.6 54.84 36.56 100 Ngopa 7.89 63.16 28.95 100 Total 10.4 62.53 27.06 100

VILLAGES Tualcheng 8.89 60 31.11 100 Vapar 3.03 60.61 36.36 100 Samthang 11.11 58.73 30.16 100 Total 7.67 59.78 32.54 100 Overall Total 9.95 61.65 28.4 100

Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006

Table 5.5 shows that medium size family with 5-6 members each is common both

in rural and urban areas. Champhai town has the largest proportion of small families

(14.71 percent) and at the same time has relatively small proportion of large families

(15.69 percent) among the towns. Family sizes in Khawzawl town are generally large

(36.56) much like the situation prevalent in the villages. The Ngopa town shows an

intermediate position with regard to the proportion of large families. Around 29 percent

families in this town are large. It is a common knowledge that large families are an

outcome of high fertility levels while prevalence of small families is a result of lower

fertility rates and also an urbanisation index. Only Champhai town shows that small

families account for a significant 15 percent of all families. On the other hand the

remaining two sample towns contain very few small families. It is evident that the

fertility rate remains quite high resulting in the prevalence large and medium family sizes

in these towns. Ordinarily literacy is negatively correlated with family size. This is so

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because higher literacy rate and urbanisation are normally associated with falling fertility

rate. Interestingly however, literacy rate and family size in the sample villages are

correlated. For example with highest literacy rate Khawzawl town has the highest

proportion of large families. Champhai town has the lowest literacy rate but has the

lowest proportion of large families.

All the sample villages contain 30 to 36 percent households with large family

size. Only 3 to 12 percent families are small in these villages indicating continued high

fertility levels in the rural areas. Samthang village however presents itself as an exception

with prevalence of relatively high proportion of smaller families and small proportion of

large families indicating lower level of fertility in the village.

Barring the Champhai town and Samthang village, rural urban differences in

family size is only marginal. The relationship between literacy and family size in the

rural areas however appears to be strongly related. For example, with lowest literacy rate

(63 percent) Vapar supports the largest number of large families (36.36percent). Likewise

with a very level of literacy (93.98 percent) Samthang contains the least number of large

families (30.16percent) (table 5.5). Tualcheng is the second most literate (70 percent)

among the sample villages and presents an intermediary position.

The rural urban difference with regard to literacy rate and family size is clearly

brought out. It is clearly revealed that education plays a significant role in the rural areas

in bringing down fertility level and hence impacting on the family size. The towns

however show no such relationship.

5.5.2. Educational Attainment

Education is not only one of the most important socio-economic factors known to

be significant in influencing individual’s behaviour and attitudes, but is a fundamental

indicator of a country’s level of human capital development (NFHS-3). Table 5.6 shows

educational attainment level of sample towns and villages. Level of educational

attainment of all the women was questioned during field survey.

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It is clear that the level of education is fairly high among the mothers in all

the sample towns and villages. Only a little over one percent of the mothers included in

the sample were illiterate. More than 15 percent (15.78 percent) completed primary level

education, 20.63 percent completed middle school level, 25.97 percent completed high

school level education and 19.75 percent completed at least class ten levels. Only 10.44

percent mothers reported that they have completed class 12 (PU) level. Mothers who

completed graduation (B.A./B. Sc/B.Com/) and Master Degree education are a significant

7.77 percent and 1.21 percent respectively.

Table 5.6.Women’s Educational level in Sample Towns and Villages (%) Education

TO

WN

S

Champhai Khawzawl Ngopa

VIL

LA

GE

S

Tualcheng Vapar Samthang Total No School 0 1.08 0 2.22 6.06 3.17 1.46 Primary 3.92 6.45 6.58 28.89 57.58 28.57 15.78 Middle 5.88 15.05 17.11 42.22 21.21 41.27 20.63 High school 18.63 37.63 40.79 22.22 9.09 14.29 25.97 Matric 26.47 21.51 18.42 2.22 6.06 7.94 16.75 PU 23.53 9.68 11.84 2.22 0.00 3.17 10.44 B.A 18.63 7.53 6.58 0.00 0.00 1.59 7.77 M.A& above 2.94 1.08 1.32 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.21 Total 100 100 100 100.00 100.0 100.00 100.0

Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006

Even though there is generally high literacy rate in all the sample towns and

villages there are variations between towns and villages as well as among the towns and

among the villages selected particularly when level of educational attainment is

considered. Very high level of education among mothers, though few in numbers, is

confined to urban areas. Most rural mothers have had an education ranging from Primary

to high school. Mothers who received class ten and above education were common only

in the towns.

Level of educational attainment is widely varied across sample towns. Mothers

who received or completed graduation or are postgraduates are more in the most

urbanised Champhai town. Their proportion is over 21 percent in the total literate

segment (table 5.6). In the remaining two towns, the proportion of graduate and post

graduate mothers is only around 8 percent.

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Very high level of education is reported from around 1 percent mothers in

Samthang village. Not a single mother completed graduate or post graduate education in

Tualcheng and Vapar villages. Level of education is particularly low in Vapar as nearly

all the mothers included in the sample received education up to middle school with only a

few making it to the next level. In terms of levels of education attained, mothers of

Samthang village are highly educated followed by Tualcheng. The mothers in Vapar

village are least educated. This difference in the level of education among mothers is

likely to be associated with their health seeking behaviour especially when reproductive

problems arise.

5.5.3. Mass Media Exposure

It is established from various studies that utilization of reproductive healthcare

services can be influenced by women’s exposure to mass media. During the survey

respondents’ mass media exposure was measured by asking women about the frequency

(at least once a week and less than once a week) with which they read a newspaper or

magazine, watch television, or listen to radio and have heard public information

regarding availability of reproductive healthcares etc. from public information system

(microphone/herald/ messenger), which is a common practice in Mizoram. Women, who

do not read any newspaper or magazine, watch television, or listen to the radio at least

once a week, are considered to be not regularly exposed to any mass media.

Table 5.7 reveals glaring rural urban disparities as far as women’s mass media

exposure is concerned. Exposure to mass media, as expected is much higher among urban

women, though there are considerable variations across the selected towns. Women’s

mass media exposure is the highest in the most urbanised Champhai town (69.61

percent), followed by Ngopa (57.57 percent) and Khawzawl (55.91 percent). It is

significant that public information system constitutes an important instrument through

which awareness about reproductive health and other health related issues is generated

among the women in all the three towns. Television as a media is only second to public

information system. Listening to radio is not popular in the towns and is virtually absent

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in Khawzawl town but of some consequence in Ngopa. Role of newspaper and magazines

is significant as over 80 percent mothers in reproductive age do read them in Champhai.

But only a little over half of the women in reproductive age group benefit from such a

media in the remaining two towns.

Table 5.7.Women’s Mass Media Exposure in Sample Towns and Villages Sample towns and villages

Reads newspaper or magazine at least once a week

Watches TV once a week

Listen Radio at least once a week

Public information

Total average

Not Regularly exposed to any media

TOWNS Champhai 80.39 90.2 11.76 96.08 69.61 3.92 Khawzawl 55.91 65.59 9.68 92.47 55.91 7.53 Ngopa 53.95 59.21 25 92.11 57.57 7.89 Total 63.41 71.67 15.48 93.55 61.03 6.44

VILLAGES Tualcheng 17.78 4.44 13.33 88.89 31.11 11.11 Vapar 9.09 0 12.12 72.73 23.48 27.27 Samthang 25.4 31.75 4.76 96.83 39.68 4.76 Total 17.42 12.06 10.07 86.15 31.42 14.38 Grant Total 40.42 41.86 12.78 89.85 46.22 10.41

Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006

Women’s mass media exposure is rather low in all the sample villages,

particularly in Vapar. Near exclusive dependence on public information system for

information on reproductive health in rural areas is clearly brought out from the fact that

the level of exposure to other media is insignificant. The Samthang village displays a

slightly better position with regard to diversity of media exposure of women. The level of

exposure is extremely low in Vapar as the women depend exclusively on public

information system as very few read newspapers/magazines or listen to radio. Not a

single woman reported to watch television in this village. Interestingly, media exposure

and literacy as well as level of education in the villages are positively associated. For

example, the highest literate village of Samthang reported the largest number of women

exposed to mass media of any types (39.68 percent), followed by the second most literate

village of Tualcheng (31.11 percent) and Vapar (23.48 percent). Evidently, listening to

radio is the second most common form of women’s mass media exposure followed by

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reading newspapers or magazines. A large number of women in the sample villages are

still ignorant about their health needs and lack proper guidance and information.

Significantly 27.27 percent of women in Vapar village are hardly exposed to any kind of

mass media.

It is observed that public information system like microphone/loudspeakers and

messenger in the villages is very common in all the sample towns and villages, especially

when preventive medicines like polio injection, BCG etc. are available in the sub-centres.

It is revealed that exposure to newspaper/magazine and television watching is popular

only in urban areas whereas listening to radio is more popular in rural areas. In most rural

areas television and regular newspaper or magazines are not available unlike in urban

areas where majority of the households could afford television, newspaper and magazine.

5.6. Fertility

Fertility differentials due to socio-economic characteristics are link with mother’s

health and health seeking behaviour during reproductive process. Many researches reveal

that generally, fertility rate tends to be higher among rural women than among urban

women. Present section analyses the fertility rate among sample towns and villages and

the ideal number children among sample mothers. Rural-urban differences in the fertility

rate and variation between inter-towns and inter-villages are also discussed.

5.6.1. Children Ever Born to Women

The number of children a woman has ever borne is a cohort measure of fertility. It

reflects fertility in the past; it provides a somewhat different picture of fertility levels,

trends and differentials. Total fertility rates (TFR) is generally used in the national level

survey as a summary measure based on the age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs). However,

the present study did not make any age-specific assessment; rather it simply calculated

the number of children a woman has given birth during her reproductive years (15-49). In

this section fertility has been calculated by using the following formula:

Total Fertility Rate = Total number of live births for all sample mothers Total number of all sample mothers

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Table 5.8 shows distribution of ever born children in the sample towns and

villages. During field survey sample mothers were asked how many children were born to

you so far? Number of living children and number of deaths were also reported.

Table 5.8 reveals significant rural-urban variation in the number of children ever

born to sample mothers in their life time. Among the sample towns the mean number of

children ever born is lowest in the largest town of Champhai (3.04) followed by

Khawzawl (3.37) and highest in Ngopa (3.56). It is evident that the mothers in Champhai

town have lesser number of children in their life time and very few have given birth to

more than five or six children during their reproductive period. Proportion of mothers

giving birth to more than five children is quite high in Khawzawl and Ngopa towns, their

proportion being close to 9 and 15 percent respectively. The total fertility rate of sample

towns is only 1.93, lesser than the national average (2.7) and Mizoram (2.9) as a whole.

Table 5.8. Number of Children Ever Born to Sample Mothers in their life time (%) No. of children

URBAN RURAL

Champhai Khawzawl Ngopa Tualcheng Vapar Samthang 1 8.14 6.72 8.82 2.45 1.42 3.54 2 25.58 22.13 23.53 11.04 5.67 9.73 3 30.23 30.83 23.53 18.40 8.51 18.58 4 27.91 20.55 13.73 31.90 17.02 17.70 5 5.81 9.88 14.71 6.13 35.46 26.55 6 2.33 7.11 8.82 11.04 4.26 10.62 7 2.77 6.86 8.59 9.93 6.19 8 4.91 11.35 7.08 9 5.52 6.38

TNC 258 253 204 163 141 226 TW 102 93 76 45 33 63 Mean 3.04 3.37 3.56 4.53 5.26 4.46 TFR 0.4 2.72 2.68 3.62 4.27 3.59 TFR 1.93(U) 3.83(R) TFR 2.7 (India) 2.9 (Mizoram) TNC=Total Number of Children ever born; TW=Total number of women; TFR=Total Fertility Rate; U=Urban; R=Rural;

Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006

This low fertility rate in urban areas is largely contributed by extremely low

fertility rate in Champhai town with a fertility rate of merely 0.4. The fertility rate in the

remaining two towns are 2.72 (Khawzawl) and 2.68 (Ngopa) which are higher than both

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national and state average. High inter-urban variation in fertility rate makes any

generalisation rather difficult with regard to the impact of urbanisation in the state.

However fertility is generally much higher in the villages compared with the

towns. Mean number of children born to women too considerably varies among the

villages, ranging from 4.46 in Samthang to 5.26 in Vapar. More number of children is

born per women in the villages particularly in the Vapar and Tualcheng Villages where

10 to 17 per cent women reported to have given birth to 8 or more children each. The

total fertility rate in the rural area is 3.83 children, which is higher than the national (2.7)

and state average (2.9) respectively. Among the villages the total fertility rate is highest

in the smallest village of Vapar (4.27) and the lowest in Tualcheng village (3.62). The

total fertility rate in Samthang is 3.59.

Though rural-urban differences in term of fertility rates among the sample

mothers is clearly evident, inter-urban and inter-village comparison make the fertility

pattern a complex issue not rendering an easy generalisation. Generally, urban mothers

are educated and hence feel the necessity for a smaller family size whereas rural mothers

continue to have more children. This result has a link with developmental variables and

forces of modernisation like education and mass media exposure. For example the

proportion of mothers exposed to mass media is relatively higher in the urban areas than

in the rural areas. Likewise urban mothers are than their rural counterparts. Even among

the sample villages women in Vapar village are least exposed to mass media and the least

literate without any healthcare facilities and records the highest total fertility rate.

5.6.3. Ideal Number of Children

To evaluate women’s ideal number of children, question has been asked to the

respondents regarding the number of children they would like to have if they could start

over again. All the sample women are questioned ‘If you could choose exactly the

number of children to have in your whole life, how many boys and how many girls would

that be?

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Table 5.9 shows percentage distribution of women in all the sample towns and

villages with respect to their opinion on ideal number of children. In the urban areas,

large majority of the women consider four to be the ideal number.

Table 5.9.Mother's Ideal no. of Children for their life time No. of children

UR

BA

N

Champhai Khawzawl Ngopa

RU

RA

L

Tualcheng Vapar Samthang

Women Women 1 0.98 0 0 0 0 0 2 3.92 5.38 11.84 2.22 0 4.76 3 23.53 12.9 38.16 17.78 6.06 34.92 4 55.88 67.74 44.74 46.67 42.42 31.75 5 11.76 9.68 5.26 17.78 39.39 15.87 6 1.96 1.08 0 6.67 6.06 4.76 7 0 1.08 0 6.67 3.03 3.17 8 0 1.08 0 2.22 3.03 1.59 9 0 0 0 0 0 0

10 1.96 1.08 0 0 0 3.17 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 No. of women

102 93 76 45 33 63

Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006

The percentage of women in favour of four children as the ideal number ranged

from 44.74 percent in Ngopa to 67.74 percent in Khawzawl. A significant proportion of

12 to 38 percent mothers considered three to be the ideal number in all the sample towns.

A negligible proportion considered two or less as an ideal number of children. Strangely,

some mothers of Champhai and Khawzawl towns, though very few, considered 10 would

be their ideal number of children (table 5.9).

Interestingly, many urban women want to have one boy and one girl with the

preference of girl child especially for those who wish to have only one or two children.

The ideal number of children among sample mothers in the villages studied varies

immensely. For example, around 47 percent of mothers in Tualcheng considered 4

children as their ideal number while less than 40 percent mothers in Vapar considered 5

children as their ideal number. However, the largest proportion of Samthang mothers

considered 3 as their ideal number of children. Significantly no mother in the villages

considered a single child as an ideal situation. Moreover relatively larger proportion of

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rural mothers wanted more than 8 children as the ideal. In Vapar village, the minimum

number of children considered ideal was three.

Evidently, the mothers in Mizoram desire more children, often four, to be the

ideal number and the rural urban variation is only marginal and a matter of degree.

However, inter village comparison does reveal the impact of education of ideal number of

children as evident from the situation in Vapar village where a great proportion of the

mothers desired over 4 children as the ideal number. More literate village of Samthang

reveals a contrasting picture.

5.6.4. Mean Ideal Number of Children

For better understanding of the above discussion the mean ideal number of

children is shown in the table. Last column of the table shows that 3.39 is the ideal

number of children in the study area as a whole which is significantly higher than the

national average of 2.4.The mean ideal number of boy child (2.06) and girl child (1.87)

in the study areas is also higher than national average of 1.1 and 0.8 respectively. This

reveals a marginal preference for boy child in Mizo society.

Table 5.10.Mother’s Mean Ideal Number of Children for their life time Sample towns and villages Mean ideal no. of children

URBAN Champhai 3.89 Khawzawl 3.97 Ngopa 3.41

RURAL Tualcheng 4.11 Vapar 4.48 Samthang 4.18 Total 3.93 Total (India) 2.4

Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006

The mean ideal number of children in the urban areas is about 3 as it ranges from

3.41 in Ngopa town to 3.97 in Khawzawl town (table 5.10).

The mean ideal number of children in the rural areas is more than the urban areas.

Generally, rural women wish to have about 4 children in their life time. The mean ideal

number of children among Vapar women is highest with 4.48 children while the least

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mean ideal number of children among mothers of sample villages is in Tualcheng with

4.11. The mean ideal number of mothers of Samthang is 4.18. However, another

interesting finding is that those mothers who want to have one or two children prefer girl

child.

5.7. Family Planning

The provision of family planning and its component information is fundamental

especially for the ability of women to make informed choices about reproductive health

decisions. For the present study, information were collected from all the sample mothers

about their knowledge of modern family planning methods and if they practiced any.

Question was asked on the knowledge and practice of modern contraceptive methods like

female and male sterilization, the pill, the IUD, the condom, the emergency contraception

and the injectables. Table 5.11 shows the knowledge and practice of contraception among

the sample mothers by their residence.

Table 5.11.Knowledge and Practice of Family Planning Methods among Sample Mothers (%) Sample towns and villages

Knowledge of any modern FP methods

Practice any modern FP methods

Not practice so far

URBAN Champhai 100 94.12 5.88 Khawzawl 98.92 83.87 16.13 Ngopa 100 85.53 14.47 Urban average 99.64 87.84 12.16

RURAL Tualcheng 91.11 73.33 26.67 Vapar 57.58 57.58 42.42 Samthang 96.83 53.97 46.03 Rural average 81.84 61.62 38.37 Total Average 90.72 74.73 25.26 India 99.2 55.8 36.0 Mizoram 98.0 64.0 35.7 FP=Family Planning

Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006

Table 5.11 reveals that knowledge of contraceptive methods is nearly universal in

all the sample towns and villages. Knowledge of contraceptive methods is practically

universal in the two towns of Champhai and Ngopa while it is satisfactorily high in

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Khawzawl with 98.92 percent. In the urban areas over 99 percent women are aware of

any modern contraceptive methods while almost 88 percent (87.84 percent) practice at

least any modern methods. A remarkably high 94.12 percent mothers in Champhai, the

largest town, practice any modern family planning methods and the remaining two towns

of Khawzawl and Ngopa also record a high proportion of over 83 and 85 percent

respectively. It is noticed that knowledge and practice of family planning methods in the

urban areas is positively correlated. Unfortunately, about 12 percent of the urban women

are not yet practice any modern contraceptive methods.

The knowledge of any modern contraceptive methods in the rural areas is also

significantly high with an average of 81.84 percent mothers being aware. Awareness of

modern family planning methods among the sample villages is the highest in the largest

and more literate village of Samthang with 96.83 percent mothers reporting awareness

about it, followed by Tualcheng with 91.11percent. However, the same is relatively low

in the smallest and least literate village of Vapar where only 57.58 percent mothers

reported some awareness about modern contraceptive methods. Though the level of

awareness is relatively high, practice of any modern family planning methods in the rural

areas is much lower than the urban areas. Around 61 percent rural mothers practiced any

modern contraceptive methods. Strangely, in the largest sample village of Samthang with

highest level of awareness, the practice of family planning methods is the least.

Tualcheng stood first in terms of the practice of family planning methods followed by the

smallest sample village of Vapar with about 73 percent and 57 percent sample mothers

who practiced some kind of modern contraceptive method respectively. This clearly

reveals that awareness about contraception does not necessarily translate into practice in

the rural areas unlike the urban areas in Mizoram. Understandably, a high proportion of

rural mothers (38.37 percent) are still abstaining from the use of any modern

contraceptive methods.

It is evident that the high performance in the knowledge of modern family

planning methods in this study area (90.72percent) is still lower than the proportion of

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national average (99.2 percent) as well as the Mizoram state average (98.0 percent).

Interestingly, however, when it comes to utilization of contraceptive methods the

performance in the study area (74.73 percent) is higher than both national (55.8 percent)

and state average (64.0 percent).

Analysis reveals that the knowledge of modern family planning methods in the

study areas is satisfactory. However, rural-urban differences are appearing in both the

knowledge and practice of family planning methods.

5.8. Mortality

Present section provides information on the level and differentials in neonatal,

perinatal and infant mortality. These mortality rates are relevant to a demographic

assessment of the population and are an important measure of the level of socio-

economic development and quality of life. They can also be used for monitoring and

evaluating population and health programme (NFHS-3). During Field survey question

had been asked to all the respondents about the complete history of their births including

for each live birth, the sex, month and years of birth, survival status, number of still

births, number of deaths and age at death. This information was utilized to calculate

mortality rates such as perinatal mortality, neonatal mortality and infant mortality.

All these mortality rates are extremely sensitive indicators of health status not

only mother but also the general population as a whole. Generally, mortality rates are

calculated for a particular period of time at the national and international level. However,

because of small sample size of the present study and to understand the past experiences

of sample mothers, all these sensitive demographic indicators are estimated from the

experiences of sample mothers in their life time.

5.8.1. Perinatal Mortality

Perinatal mortality is calculated as number of deaths (including still birth & very

early infant deaths at age 0-6 days) experienced by sample mothers in their life time. For

the present study perinatal mortality is estimated as number of early death (including still

154

birth & very early infant deaths at age 0-6 days) per pregnancies experienced by sample

mothers during their life time as expressed in the following formulae.

Perinatal mortality =

No. of pregnant mothers experienced still births + early infant death within one week x1000 Number of sample mothers.

Neonatal mortality is estimated as follows:

Neonatal mortality=

No. of infant death between one week and first month of life x1000 No. of live births

Infant mortality is estimated as follows:

Infant mortality= No. of infant death before the first birthday x1000 No. of live births

Table 5.12 shows the three mortality indicators in all the sample towns and

villages and their variation. For the present study areas as a whole, perinatal mortally is

estimated to be 43.69 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies, which is slightly lower than national

average of 48.5 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies and significantly higher than the Mizoram

state average of 26.6 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies. However, it is important to know that

estimation at the national and state level is based on the period of 2001-2005 while the

present study includes all the life time experiences of mothers in the sample areas.

Among sample towns perinatal mortality rate is the highest in the largest town of

Champhai with 58.82 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies. The proportion of perinatal mortality

is the lowest in Khawzawl (21.51deaths/1,000 pregnancies). Ngopa (26.32deaths/1,000

pregnancies) is in the intermediate position. Perinatal mortality in the urban areas is

nearly 37 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies.

The rural-urban variation in perinatal mortality rates is highly significant. Very

high rate of perinatal mortality is a serious problem among the rural mothers. The

average of perinatal mortality rate in rural areas is as high as 56.74 compared to urban

areas with 36.90 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies. Perinatal mortality rate is exceedingly

high the smallest village of Vapar, where there is no single healthcare facilities with

90.91deaths per 1,000 pregnancies. The case in the remaining two villages of Samthang

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and Tualcheng is also considerably high with 47.62 and 44.44 prinatal deaths per 1,000

pregnancies respectively. All the three sample villages reported extremely high perinatal

rates compared to the national and state average.

Table 5.12.Mortality Rate by Sample Towns and Villages Sample Villages

No. of Perinatal mortality+

% No of Neonatal mortality++

% No. of Infant mortality!

% TNC

URBAN Champhai 6 58.82 2 7.75 11 42.64 258 Khawzawl 2 21.51 0 0.00 9 35.57 253 Ngopa 2 26.32 2 9.80 7 34.31 204 Total(Urban) 10 36.90 4 5.59 27 37.76 715

RURAL Tualcheng 2 44.44 2 12.27 5 30.67 163 Vapar 3 90.91 2 14.18 7 49.65 141 Samthang 3 47.62 3 13.27 8 35.40 226 Total(Rural) 8 56.74 7 13.21 20 37.74 530 Grant total 18 43.69 11 8.84 47 37.75 1245 TNP 412 India* 48.5 39.0 57.0 Mizoram* 26.6 16.3 34.1 ! No. of sample mother who had infant death before the first birthday during their life time; +Sample mother who experienced still birth & very early infant deaths at age 0-6 days in their life time; ++ The probability of dying in the first month of life. TNC= Total Number of Children ever born; TPN=Total Number of Pregnancy;*Based on the child mortality rates for the five year period preceding the survey

Source: Field Survey, January-May, 2006

5.8.2. Neonatal Mortality

The report of neonatal mortality in the study areas (8.84 deaths per 1,000 live

births) is generally low and much lower than the national average (39.0 deaths per 1,000

live births) as well as the state average (16.3 deaths per 1,000 live births) (table 5.13).

Neonatal mortality in rural areas is quite high when compared with the urban areas.

Average neonatal mortality rate is 5.59 per 1,000 live births in urban areas but as high as

13.21 per 1,000 live births in rural areas. Among the sample towns, neonatal mortality

rate is the highest in Ngopa town (9.80), followed by Champhai town (7.75). There are

no reported cases of neonatal deaths in Khawzawl town.

The inter village variation in neonatal deaths is marginal. The rate however is the

highest in the smallest village of Vapar bereft of healthcare facilities coupled with low

156

level of awareness about maternity care. On an average 14.18 children per thousand live

births in the village died before completing one month. The rate is 13.27 deaths per 1,000

live births in Samthang village while Tualcheng village reported 12.27 neonatal deaths

per 1,000 live births.

5.8.3. Infant Mortality

Unlike the other two indicators of perinatal and neonatal mortality, prevalence of

infant mortality rate is nearly uniform in rural and urban areas going by the average rate.

Infant mortality rate is a little over 37 per 1,000 live births in both rural an urban areas

(table 5.12). Significantly, this average value conceals glaring inter-town variation in the

occurrence of infant mortality. Exceedingly high infant mortality rate is reported in the

largest town of Champhai (42.6 per 1,000) compared to the remaining two towns of

Khawzawl and Ngopa with 35.57 and 34.31 respectively (table 5.13).

Likewise there is great inter village variation in the rates of infant mortality.

Exceptionally high infant mortality rate is reported from Vapar, the village with lowest

level of literacy with 49.65 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The rates in the remaining

two villages are also significantly high with 30.67 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in

Tualcheng and 35.40 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in Samthang village. As a whole,

infant mortality in the study areas is lower than the national average (57) but higher than

the state average (34.1).

5.9. Concluding Statement The major findings of the analysis made in this chapter are as follows:

Disparity in the distribution of maternal healthcare facilities and providers is a

problem in the present study area. Understandably, urbanization has been a positive

factor in enhancing better maternal healthcare both in terms of provision and utilization.

Literacy rates are better in urban areas and this has possibly made a difference. However

there is distinguishable variation within urban areas depending upon the size and

maternity care facilities. For example, Champhai the largest town is comparatively better

157

equipped in healthcare facilities and hence performs much better compared to other

smaller order towns. In the rural areas, level of education and accessibility to maternal

healthcare too emerge as important determinants as far as maternal healthcare is

concerned.

Medium size family is the most common in sample areas, followed by large and

small size family. Urbanization is generally associated with smaller families, though not

necessarily so. Small towns do not exhibit a tendency towards smaller family size. Large

households are more common in the villages. The rural urban difference with regard to

maternal literacy rate and family size is clearly brought out. Education seems to play

significant role in the rural areas in bringing down fertility level and hence impacting on

the family size.

Literacy rate among sample mothers are generally high in the towns and villages.

However, there are significant variations between rural and urban areas as well as across

the towns and villages particularly when level of maternal educational attainment is

considered. Very high level of education among mothers, though few in number, is

confined to urban areas. Most rural mothers have had an education ranging from Primary

to high school. Mothers who received class ten and above education were common only

in the towns. The study reveals a positive association between mother’s health seeking

behaviour and level of their educational attainment.

It is interesting to note that the most important source of women’s mass media

exposure about maternal healthcare in sample towns and villages is public announcement

through loudspeaker. Exposure to newspaper/magazine and television watching is

popular only in urban areas whereas listening to radio is more popular in rural areas. In

most rural areas television and regular newspaper or magazines are not available unlike

in urban areas where majority of the households could afford television, newspaper and

magazine.

Rural-urban variation in fertility rates among the sample mothers is clearly

brought out. Important factors like education and mother’s mass media exposure have an

158

impact on mother’s health seeking attitude. For example, urban mothers are more

educated and desire to have lesser number of children. On the other hand rural mothers

still preserve the traditional practice of having more children. This result seems to have a

link with developmental variables and forces of modernisation like education and mass

media exposure. For example the proportion of mothers exposed to mass media is

relatively higher in the urban areas than in the rural areas; likewise urban mothers are

more literate than rural areas. Even among the sample villages Vapar is the least exposed

to mass media and the least literate without any healthcare facilities. In relation this, the

total fertility rate is the highest in the smallest village of Vapar among the villages.

Mothers in the study areas desire to have more children and majority of them

reported that four to be their ideal number of children. The rural urban variation is only

marginal in this regard. However, inter-village comparison does reveal the impact of

education on ideal number of children as wherever literacy rates are low, ideal numbers

of children are higher especially in the villages. The mean ideal number of children in the

rural areas (4 children) is more than the urban areas (3 children). Another interesting

finding is that those mothers who want to have one or two children prefer girl child.

The analysis reveals that the knowledge of modern family planning methods is

generally satisfactory. However, there is a contrast with regard to the level of awareness

and utilisation of modern family planning in the study area. While the level of awareness

is lower than the national average, the utilisation level is much higher than the national

average.

Perinatal mortality is relatively high in both rural and urban areas but slightly

lower than the national average. Rural-urban variation in the rate of perinatal mortality is

also glaring. On an average, the extent of perinatal mortality is lower in the urban areas,

but this cannot be taken as a generalisation due to extreme inter-urban and inter-village

variation in perinatal mortality.

Evidently, neonatal mortality in the study area is generally low and much lower

than the national average though there are significant inter-urban as well as inter-village

159

variations. However, rural-urban variation in neonatal mortality in the study area is

marginal. The extent of neonatal mortality appears to be independent of either literacy or

urbanization.

Finally, Infant mortality is almost uniform in both urban and rural areas

concealing wide inter-urban variation. As a whole, infant mortality in the study areas is

lower than the national average but higher than the state average. The significance of

urbanization and education in influencing infant mortality rate is not much evident in the

study area.

Notes

i One eligible woman each (aged between15-49) was interviewed from surveyed household even if there are more than one eligible couple. Thus, number of households surveyed and number of eligible mothers interviewed are identical. ii Generally, in Mizoram people speak Mizo and they love Mizo dialect and that is one reason why Mizo communities are said to be much unified and people who speak different dialects are usually migrants from Manipur and other neighbouring states and lately some from Myanmar too. These people who used their own dialects are comparatively backward and slightly differ from those who speak Mizo in their ways of life even though they belong to Mizo community iii In Mizo history Fiara ( name of a person) had a hidden well out of the stream and said to be the clearest and tastiest water in Mizoram)

Fig

. 5.3

. Sat

ellit

e Im

ager

y of

Cha

mph

ai T

own

Fig. 5.1. Location of Sample Towns and Villages

Fig. 5.2.An overview of Champhai Town based on -2001 Census

Fig.5.4 An overview of Khawzawl Town

Fig

. 5.5

. Sat

ellit

e Im

ager

y of

Kha

wza

wl T

own

Fig. 5.6. An over view of Ngopa Town

Fig

ure

5.7.

Sat

ellit

e Im

ager

y of

Ngo

pa T

own

Fig. 5.8. An over view of Tualcheng Village

Fig

.5.9

Sat

ellit

e Im

ager

y of

Tua

lche

ng V

illag

e

Fig

. 5.1

0.Sa

telli

te I

mag

ery

show

ing

Tua

lche

ng R

oad

Fig.5.11. An Over view of Vapar Village

Fig

. 5.1

2. S

atel

lite

Imag

ery

of V

apar

Vill

age

Fig

. 5.1

3 Sa

telli

te I

mag

ery

show

ing

Vap

ar R

oad

Fig. 5.14. An over view of Samthang Village

Fig

.5.1

5. S

atel

lite

Imag

ery

of S

amth

ang

Vill

age

Fig

. 5.1

6. S

atel

lite

Imag

ery

show

ing

Sam

than

g R

oad