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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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