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Chapter 2 STUDY AREA

History of District Tehri Garhwal

Lying on the southern slopes of outer Himalayas, Tehri Garhwal is one of the sacred

hilly districts of Uttarakhand State. Before the creation of universe, Lord Brahma is said to

have meditated on this sacred land. Muni-ki-Reti and Tapovan of the district are the places of

penance for the ancient Rishis. Its hilly terrain and lack of easy communications have helped

it to preserve its culture almost intact. Tehri and Garhwal are the two words combined for

naming the district as Tehri Garhwal. While the prefix Tehri is the corrupted form of the

word ‘Trihari’ which signifies a place that washes away all the three types of sins, namely

sins born out of thought (Mansa), word (Vacha) and deed (Karmana), the other part ‘Garh’

means country fort. In fact during olden days possession of number of forts was considered

as a significant measuring rod of the prosperity and power of their rulers. History of Tehri

Garhwal District before the establishment of Panwar Dynasty is not very clear. Prior to 888,

the whole of the Garhwal region was divided into small `garhs` ruled by separate

independent kings known as Rana, Rai or Thakur.

It is said that the prince Kanak Pal who hailed from Malwa visited Badrinath (presently

in Chamoli district) where he met the then mightiest king Bhanu Pratap. King Bhanu Pratap

was impressed with the prince and got his only daughter married to him and also handed over

his kingdom. Gradually Raja Kanak Pal and his descendents extended their empire by

conquering all the forts of Garhwal region. Thus up to 1803 that is for around 915 years the

whole of Garhwal region remained under their control. Further, according to the history of

Tehri Garhwal District, during 1794 and 1795 Garhwal was under the grip of severe famine

and again in 1883, the country was terribly shaken by an earthquake. Gorkhas had by then

started invading this territory and heralded their influence over the region. The people of the

region being already affected by natural calamities were in the terrible condition and

therefore could not oppose the invasion of the Gorkhas. On the other hand, Gorkhas whose

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several attempts for capturing the fort Langur Garhi had earlier failed were now in a powerful

position. In 1804 during the Gurkhas' invasion the last king of undivided Garhwal,

Pradyuman Shah was killed in the battle of Khurbura at Dehradun, defending his ancestrial

kingdom from the invaders. With the defeat of Garhwal against the Gorkhas, Garhwal fell

into the hand of invaders, who enjoyed their rule in Garhwal for 11 years until 1815 A.D.

This event is a landmark in the history of Garhwal. In 1815, the Company Government

provided all possible assistance with army and equipment to the prince Sudarshan Shah in

driving away the Gorkhas from Garhwal. For this assistance he gave the eastern part of his

ancestral kingdom- Pauri Garhwal to the Company Government for its help and shifted his

capital from Srinagar to Tehri, and then which was merely a small village. After

independence with the pine venture of Deputy P. M. Sardar Patel, the mission for merger of

556 independent states into the Indian Union had been undertaken and thus the state of Tehri

Garwhal merged into the United Province in August 1949. In 1961, Uttarkashi Tahsil was

carved a new district on the map of state and India for its importance in view of security as a

border area with China. On November 9, 2000 with the 13 district of the Himalayan region a

new hill state of Uttaranchal came into existence on the map of India and thus Tehri Garhwal

is a part of Uttaranchal now.

(Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehri_Garhwal_district; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehri_Garhwal_district;

file:///H:/History%20of%20Tehri%20Garhwal%20District.mht)

Geography of Tehri Garhwal District

Tehri Garhwal is one of the western most mountainous districts of the Uttarakhand

State, located on the outer ranges of the mid Himalayas which comprise low line peaks rising

contiguously with the planes of the northern India. The district was included in Uttarakhand

after the state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh on 9th

November 2000. The district lies

between the parallels of 30° 03’ and 30° 53’ north latitude and 77º 56’ and 79° 04’ east

longitude. The district falls in Survey of India toposheet nos. 53J and 53N. The district is

bounded by Uttarkashi district in the north, Rudraprayag district in the east, Pauri Garhwal

district in the south and Dehradun district in the west. On the western front Yamuna river

separates it from Jaunsar Pragana of the Dehra Dun district while Bhagirathi rising from the

north of the Gangotri in the district Uttarkashi touches the district near village Nagun. Total

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area of the district is 4080 sq. kms (Census 2011). The district headquarter is located at New

Tehri Town since 1.4.1989, Earlier Narendranagar was the district headquarter (Fig.2a).

The district is well connected with Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, by a

network of metalled roads namely Rishikesh-De0prayag road (NH-58) and also

Narendranagar-Chamba-Tehri-Ghanshali road. New Tehri Town, the present district

headquarter, has been shifted from the erstwhile district headquarter, Old Tehri, after the

construction of Tehri Dam (sprawling over an area of 45 km2), the tallest dam of Asia and the

fourth tallest earth and rock fill dam in the world. New Tehri is well connected with

Dehradun (139 km), Old Tehri (16 km) and Rishikesh (84 km). The total length of motorable

roads in the district is 1824 km. Uttarakhand Transport Corporation Limited provides bus

service to important places in the district. The nearest airport for New Tehri is Jolly Grant (93

km) whereas the nearest railway station is Rishikesh (76 km).

For the administrative convenience Tehri Garhwal district, a part of Garhwal

Division, has been divided into five tehsils viz. Pratapnagar, Tehri, Narendranagar, Ghanshali

and Devprayag and nine Developmental Blocks viz. Pratapnagar, Bhilangana, Jakhnidhar,

Jaunpur, Thouldhar, Chamba, Narendranagar, Devprayag and Kirtinagar. There are 1836

villages, out of which 1768 villages are inhabited, 42 villages are uninhabited and the rest 26

are categorised as forest villages. According to Census, 2001 there is one Census Town (New

Tehri). There are 928 Gram Panchayats, 76 Nyay Panchayats, 4 Nagar Panchayats, 2

Municipal Boards and 6 Police Stations in the district (Fig.2b).

GEOLOGY

District Tehri Garhwal is represented by the rocks of Lesser Himalaya and Central

Himalaya. The geological set up is very complex due to the repeated tectonic disturbances

caused by different orogenic cycles. Valdiya (1980) carried out extensive geological and

structural mapping in the area. The salient features of geology are depicted in the geological

map of Tehri Garhwal district. The map is based on Geological Survey of India, 2002.

The rock units exposed in various parts of Tehri Garhwal district are exposed in two

broad geotectonic zones viz. Central or Higher Himalaya and Lesser Himalaya. The Central

Himalaya lies to the north of Main Central Thrust (MCT) whereas the Lesser Himalaya

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occurs to the south of it. A group of regionally metamorphosed rocks known as Central

Crystallines are exposed in the Central Himalaya. The Central Crystallines occur as thrust

sheets over the metasedimentary and sedimentary rocks of Lesser Himalaya in varied

tectonic settings. Major rock types of Central Crystallines are migmatites, psammitic and

mica gneiss, calc gneiss, quartzite, marble, mica schist and amphibolite. Granites of different

ages ranging from Paleoproterozoic to Mesozoic-Tertiary intrude the Central Crystallines.

The Lesser Himalaya occupies major part of the district and comprises of different groups

like Jaunsar Group, Blaini-Krol Group and Tal Group. The groups are subdivided into

various formations like Bhilangana Formation, Rautgara Formation, Bijni Formation. A suite

of granitic intrusive known as Granitoids of Kedarnath and basic volcanics of Garhwal Group

are also exposed in parts of the district. Generally, the rocks of the Lesser Himalayan Zone

show signs of multiple phases of deformation and metamorphism (fig.2c).

(Source:www.cgwb.gov.in/District_Profile/../Tehri%20Garhwal.pdf)

DRAINAGE

Drainage of the area is mainly controlled by the major perennial rivers like

Bhagirathi, Bhilangana, Alaknanda and their tributaries like Bal Ganga and Dharma Ganga.

Bhagirathi River flows from north to south and meets Alaknanda River at Devprayag.

Bhilangana River flows from north east to south west and meets Bhagirathi River near Old

Tehri. Bhagirathi and Bhilangana Rivers drain the central part of the district while Alaknanda

River flows in the southernmost part close to the district boundary. Apart from the major

rivers, many seasonal streams and rivulets (locally called gad and gadhera) drain the area.

Important among them are Nailchami Gad, Lastar Gad, Nagun Gad, Bhadri Gad,

Chandrabhaga Gad, Bandal Nadi etc. Sub-trellis and sub-dendritic are the most common

drainage patterns in the area. The perennial rivers are primarily fed by snowmelt with

relatively smaller contribution from ground water. However, during the lean period, the

rivers are fed by ground water occurring as base flow (fig.2d).

(Source:www.cgwb.gov.in/District_Profile/../Tehri%20Garhwal.pdf)

SOIL TYPES

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The soils of Tehri Garhwal district can be broadly classified into two types, viz. soils

of Central/Higher Himalaya and soils of Lesser Himalaya. The soils of Central Himalaya

have been broadly classified under a) Soils of Summits, Ridge Tops and Mountain Glaciers,

b) Soils of Side Slopes, c) Soils of Upper Glacio-Fluvial Valleys and d) Soils of Cliffs. Major

soil type of the study area is Hilly Soil, developed from graniteferous biotite, sctics granites,

gnesiss, phyllites. These are brown to dark grayish in color and acidic in reaction. Soil type

of the study area may be broadly subdivided into three soil types. Soils of the first type are

moderately shallow, excessively drained, thermic, fine loamy, moderately eroded and slightly

stony and are known as Dystric Eutrudepts. The second type, Lithic Udorthents, is

characterised by very shallow, excessively drained, severely eroded and strongly stony,

thermic loamy soils exposed on steep slopes with loamy and sandy surface. Typic

Udorthents, the third major soil type, is moderately shallow, excessively drained, moderately

eroded and slightly stony, loamy soils on moderate slopes with loamy surface. The soils of

the study area are basically the product of fluvial process of the river Bhagirathi and its

tributaries (Bhilangana, Balganga etc.). The alluvial soil of the area is dry, porous, sandy,

faint yellow and consists of clay and organic matter. Soils of the area are slightly acidic. The

pH value of the soils varies depending upon the type of forests. The soil of oak forest is

sandy loam. The pH values on all sites and depths ranged 5.80 to 6.27. The soil of pine forest

is clay to sandy clayey loam. The pH values ranged 5.42 to 6.71 (Sheikh and Kumar, 2010).

(Source:www.cgwb.gov.in/District_Profile/../Tehri%20Garhwal.pdf)

CLIMATE

The climate in Tehri Garhwal district varies from cold temperate, tropical to sub-

tropical. The northern and north western parts of the district experiences sub-zero

temperature during the winter whereas the central and southern parts are comparatively warm

and humid. In the southern part, at Narendranagar and west of New Tehri (e.g. Chamba,

Dhanolti and Surkanda Devi), the weather is very cold in winter and pleasant in summer.

Snowfall is quite common during the winter in these areas. Other parts of the district

experience dry, hot summer and cold winter.

Temperature: January is the coldest month whereas temperature becomes highest

usually during June. Maximum and minimum temperature (Month-wise), for five years

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(2007-2011), is tabulated below.

Month

2007

(Average)

2008

(Average)

2009

(Average)

2010

(Average)

2011

(Average)

Max. Min Max. Min Max. Min Max. Min Max. Min

January 14 9 14 9 9 6 9 6 9 5

February 13 6 12 6 9 5 10 5 10 6

March 12 8 16 10 7 9 16 12 15 11

April 19 16 21 14 17 11 23 16 18 14

May 23 20 24 18 24 16 25 18 22 16

June 25 21 24 20 30 20 24 17 21 17

July 20 21 23 20 26 19 14 11 19 15

August 22 20 22 19 24 18 13 11 19 14

September 20 19 21 16 23 14 12 10 20 10

October 17 16 17 14 17 11 13 11 19 10

November 12 11 12 9 10 8 13 12 15 19

December 16 12 10 7 10 8 11 19 12 8

Table 2a: Temperature (in °c) record for New Tehri, Tehri Range (Tehri District)

(Source: Divisional Forest Officer, Tehri Forest Division, New Tehri)

Rainfall: Rainfall, in the study area, occurs almost throughout the year. Maximum

rainfall is recorded during the monsoon period i.e. from July to September. There is slight

decrease in rainfall from December till March. Rest of the year rainfall is quiet low. Average

rainfall (Month-wise), for five years (2007-2011), is tabulated below.

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Month 2007

(Average) 2008

(Average) 2009

(Average) 2010

(Average) 2011

(Average)

January 0 15.38 2.51 7.35 10.06

February 57.41 7.9 17.85 56 46.17

March 46.94 7.5 14.51 0 1.4

April 8.87 3.31 13.86 14.3 15.43

May 14.8 29.61 36.54 25.64 32.26

June 15.9 91 4.83 35.5 95.3

July 89.67 104.87 28.38 126.8 46.33

August 95.06 115.8 4.58 106.32 184.03

September 34.4 35.7 93.66 173.6 18.83

October 10.52 0 0 0.96 0

November 0 0.3 0 8 0

December 8.19 0 0 21.3 0

Table 2b: Rainfall (in mm) data for New Tehri- Tehri Range ( Dist.- Tehri Garhwal).

(Source: Divisional Forest Officer, Tehri Forest Division, New Tehri)

Relative Humidity Relative Humidity in the District Tehri Garhwal increases rapidly

with the onset of monsoon and reaches maximum, i.e. 85% in the morning and 84% in the

evening, during August. Relative Humidity in the District Tehri Garhwal decreases in

summers and is minimum, i.e. 47% in morning and 25% in evening, during April to June.

Flora and Fauna

The variations in topography make the district rich with different fauna and flora.

Such a variation in topography makes the district a natural zoo, having rich biodiversity. The

common faunal species are Leopard, Tiger, Blackbear, Barking Deer, Cheetal, Lizard,

Python and Cobra. Besides these Ape, Monkey, Musk dear are the rare species found in the

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district. Doves, Patridge, Vulture, Kite Eagle, Wild-Fowl, Sparrow, Crow and various other

species are common in the district. Honeybee and colorful butterflies with various other

insects makes the study area more lively and colourful. The valleys and slops of hills are full

of mixed vegetation comprising chiefly Pine, Deodar, Oak, Rhododandren, Thuner, Kail,

Khair, Bhimal, Kharik, Tun, Amla, Harada etc. Different fruit trees like Mango, Apple,

Peach, Apricot, Nut and Citrus give delicious test to life.

PEOPLE

Generally, the inhabitants of Tehri Garhwal district are the Aryans came from the

different parts of northern India. Before the advent of the Aryans, the original inhabitants of

this area were Koles, Bhils and Kirats. The western part of the district- Jaunpur block has an

impact of a tribal group of Jaunsari. The dialect of the district is Garhwali with different

accents. The custom in the different area has some diversity but not so different from one

another. Some decades ago, the people used to wear mirzai, pajama, and turban on their

heads. In high altitude wollen degla and dumkar. Ghaghra and angra were common among

women. However, with the passing of time pants and shirts, sarees and blouse, salwar and

kurta are taking place especially in new generation. Jewellery like somewhat in custom

Rajasthani culture had an impact on jewellery was very common here namely nose rings,

hear rings, bullak, timaniyan, chandrahar ,kanthi, hansuli jhpenwary, kamarband,

sheeshphool, matbenu etc. nevertheless, in the name of advancement the traditional costumes

and jewellery are giving place to the modern costumes and jewellery. Formerly we have our

occupations of cultivation and animal husbandry but different handcrafts, which were also

the part of economy. Carpentary, masion, black smith, pottery, weaving bamboo crafting,

leather crafting etc. were very common in the area. But now people go out for government

and private jobs which turn the economy of the district into money-order economy.

Religious Places

Lord Shiva temple in Budhakedar, Nag temple in Sem-Mukhem and Mahasartal,

Chandrabadni temple, Surkhanda devi temple, Kunjapuri temple, etc. are the famous

sidhapithas in the district. In addition to these, there are countless temples belonging to

different gods and goddesses. Place situated on the confluence of the rivers are also important

in view of religion and faith.

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Fair and Festivals

The people of Tehri Garhwal have been fond fair and festivals since very long, which

bring them joy and amusement. The month of Baishakha is the month of fairs. On Panchami,

Makarsakranti, Vishvat Sakranti and on the different occasion we have fairs in addition to the

common fairs in the country to make the life happy and joyful. Chaitra is the month of

flowers to welcome the spring. Before the sunrise and the sunset the children use to go out in

groups to collect the flowers of different colours and sprinkle them on the threshold of each

door in the house and in the neighbourhood throughout the month. Before decades there were

some fairs for amusement like BEDWARTH when the BADI had to slip on a rope with

connected both ends with two logs in the opposite directions. LANG was also the fair BADI

in which he used to make different actions and motions to make to audience laugh. In the

name of sacrifice to goddess Durga a male buffalo made to run by hitting it with logs and

swords ultimately that was killed. However, such fairs and festivals had gone by. Folk dances

(MANDAN) are still popular among the people. The Jaunpur area of the district is famous

for its folk dances and folk songs. Rapid change in socio-cultural life of people, the

traditional customs are giving ground to the new urban culture.

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VEGETATION

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