The township was first established and settled in November 1871 when the Superintendent of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Lt. Col. T.H. Lewin ordered his Assistant Mr. Crouch and 150 soldiers from the Frontier Battalion to build a fort at Tlabung which is to serve the Battalion Headquarters of the Southern Column of the Lushai Expedition to rescue a young girl named Mary Winchester from the Lushai Chief Bengkhuaia. It was made a part of the SouthLushai Hills on 1 April 1898, while it was part of the ChittagongHill Tracts earlier. It became a flourishing trade center during 1860-70 when Mizo in north and south had less knowledge of commerce. It was used as the main river port to import goods from what is now Bangladesh through Chittagong city. It had an old fort constructed during British time at the advice of Lt. Col. T.H. Lewin..British Troops and missionaries used this route to reach Mizoram during the Colonial days. It used to take 5 days to reach from Chittagong to Tlabung, a distance of about 90 kilometers after which they would travel another 35 kilometers to reach Lunglei. Karnaphuli River links Mizoram with the port cit of Chittagong on the shores of Bay of Bengal. British Troops and missionaries used this route to reach Mizoram during the Colonial days. It used to take 5 days to reach from Chittagong to Tlabung, a distance of about 90 kilometers after which they would travel another 35 kilometers to reach Lunglei. By 1871-1872 there were already 8 shopes in Tlabung. Big bazaars were started by Superintendent LL Peters from 25 April 1940.
Demographics
Indiacensus, Tlabung had a population of 3,675. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Tlabung has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 71%. In Tlabung, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age. There were 4,754 people in Tlabung according to the preliminary census in 2005. Again the total population was divided into 2428 males and 2326 females. A total number of households recorded in the same year was 938.
Transport
Tlabung is 97 kilometers from Lunglei, the district headquarters and 332 kilometers from Aizawl, the state capital. The Khawthlangtuipui River flows through Tlabung, and from the "Missionary Kai Ferry Terminal" at Talabung the river is navigable up to Rangamati in Bangladesh but due to construction of downstream Kaptai Dam at Kaptai in Bangladesh, access to Port of Chittagong is not possible by boat but accessible by road. Kawrpuichhuah / Kawarpuchiah / KawripuichhuahIndia–Myanmar Integrated border checkpost near Tlabung in Lunglei district opened in Oct 2017. The 22 km long Lunglei–Tlabung–Kawrpuichhuah road was upgraded in 2014-15 in a World Bank-funded project to enhance India-Bangladesh border connectivity.
Economy
A Border Trade facilitation center in Tlabung is in operation which helps with trade between Chittagong, Bangladesh and Tlabung, Mizoram. There are future plans to open the route from Tlabung to Chittagong port, it has been estimated that Mizoram can export raw and semi raw materials like bamboo while it can import iron, steel and crockeries.
