DISTRICT: UTTARKASHI

DISTRICT: UTTARKASHI

Saat Taal - Photo - J.P.Panwar

Uttarkashi is situated on the banks of river Bhagirathi at an altitude of 1352 m above sea level. Uttarkashi is home to a number of ashrams and temples and also to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. Most of the terrain is hilly. There are many small and big rivers in Uttarkashi district. The Yamuna and the Ganges (Bhagirathi) are biggest and holiest among them, their origin is Yamunotri and Gangotri (Gomukh) respectively. Asi ganga and jad ganga are some of the tributaries of the Ganges.

Someshwar Temple - Photo - J.P.Panwar

It has also become famous among adventurous people due to the scope of various adventurous activities. Uttarkashi town is also called as Shivnagri. Uttarkashi town has number of temples and ashrams. Uttarkashi is known for its religious people, weather, education and fashion. The list of villages selected under the project in Tehri district is as follows.

List of Cluster and Corresponding Villages in Uttarkashi District

S.N.	Cluster	Name of Village	Block	Number of Households	Total Population
1	Harshil	Sukki	Batwari	101	525
2		Harshil	Batwari	1083	1205
3		Mukhwa	Batwari	124	680
4		Dharali	Batwari	137	583
5		Bagori	Batwari	145	567
6	Raithal	Raithal	Batwari	192	1005

Cluster-1:  Harsil Cluster

Goddess Dyanki Devi - Mukhwa - Photo - J.P.Panwar

There are five village namely Harsil, Mukhwa, Dharali, Bagori and Sukki comes under Harsil Cluster. The distance between the villages ranges from 9 km to 3 km. Sukhi is only village located 9 km before the Harsil. All the villages in the cluster are surrounded by snow capped mountain situated on the banks of Bhagirathi River, with dense deodar slopes on either side of the region. The  Himalayan villages are located at Bhatwari block of Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand State of India at an average height of 7,860 ft (2382meters) from sea level, 66 to 75 Kms towards East from District head quarter and 184 Kms from the state capital Dehradun.

Mother Ganga on the way to Gangotri - Photo - J.P.Panwar

The villages are located at 0 to 500 meters distance from National Highway No. 108 and 31 to 40 Kms from block headquarter Bhatwari. The cluster is closer to Gangotri, one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Char Dham. The protected area Gangotri National Park is also located at the distance of 30 to 39 Kms from the villages. Weather of entire region stays cold and pleasant throughout the year. At present, major inflow of tourists at this place starts from April to June and September to November.

Bagori Village - Harsil - Photo - J.P.Panwar

However, as a new beginning from 2014 onwards, Government of Uttarakhand has taken the decision to start the pilgrimage journey during the winter season as well - thus making it a yearlong affair and opening of employment and income generation opportunities for the local people. The maximum temperature during Village summer ranges from 15 ºC to 10 ºC. The months of winters begins from October and extend to January. Maximum temperature reaches to 10 ºC and goes down to 0 ºC or below. During winter season, it also receives a particular amount of snowfalls. It is one of the best place wherein people must go who want to spend some moment in solitude.

Cluster-2: Raithal Cluster

Raithal village is 40 kms away from district headqurter Uttarkashi and is on the way to holy pilgrimage of Gangotri. The block headquarter Bhatwari is located at the distance of 30 km from Uttarkashi, from Bhatwari one has to take another motorable 10 km route to reach village Raithal. The average height of the village is about 1900 meter from sea level. Generally the weather remains cold throughout the year. In the winter season the village receive snow fall. The village is also serving as base camp to famous 6 km Dayara Bugyal treak.  Dayara Bugyal is a beautiful meadow. 

Saat Taal - Photo Curtsy - J.P.Panwar

The famous Sheshnag Temple enroute is a major attraction of the trek.  From Dayara, one can also trek down to Dodi Tal (30 kms).  During winters, Dayara provides excellent ski slopes over an area of 28 sq.km. the Anduri or Butter Festival, as it is commonly known, held at Raithal every year. In this festival, people smear each other with butter and butter milk (Mattha). 'Anduri' is associated with the practice of villagers moving to higher altitudes during summer.

Himalayan Sheep - Photo - J.P.Panwar

For four long months, people move with their cattle to high altitudes for pasture. When winter approaches and its time for them to leave the grasslands, the villagers celebrate 'Anduri' to express their gratitude to Mother Earth. It is celebrated to thank Lord Krishna for protecting the cattle from the evil forces while they were grazing in the open meadows of Dayara. It is also celebrated to mark the occasion of Lord Krishna's lifting the Govardhan Pravat to crush the ego of Indra (the rain god). The festival terminates with cultural show and Raso dance by the village youth. In a bid to preserve the tradition, the people have constituted ''Dayara Paryatan Utsav Samiti' to host the festival. According to the founder members of the Samiti, they have stepped forward in support of the festival to promote eco-tourism as well as introduce rich culture and heritage of Uttarakhand to the world.

DISTRICT: UDHAM SINGH NAGAR

DISTRICT: UDHAM SINGH NAGAR

In the vicinity of the spectacular Kumaon Himalayas lies the district of Udham Singh Nagar which was a part of district before the Tarai belt was separated to form the present Udham Singh Nagar on 30 September 1995 under the Kumaon Division. Udham Singh Nagar (named after the renowned freedom fighter Shri Udham Singh) is basically an industrial district and many industry related professions are prevalent. Here, Govind Ballabh Pant University located at distance of 5 km from Rudrapur District HQ, is a leading temple of learning in the fields of agriculture and technology with one of the finest built university all around the world. This place has rare sight seeing as it is surrounded by Kumaon Himalayas on one side and Nepal on the other (Tanakpur touches the Khatima border which is in Champawat district). The nearest Domestic Airport from Udham Singh Nagar is Pant Nagar Domestic Airport, Uttarakhand, at about 12 km Udham Singh Nagar is connected with the rail-link through Rudrapur Railway Station on the northern railway route.

List of Cluster and Corresponding Villages in US Nagar District

S.N.	Cluster	Name of Village	Block	Number of Households	Total Population
1	Haripura	Haripura	Bajpur	557	2862
2		Nanakmatta	Sitarganj	1580	8470

DISTRICT: TEHRI

DISTRICT: TEHRI

Lying on the southern slopes of outer Himalayas, Tehri Garhwal is one of the sacred hilly districts of Uttarakhand State. 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. Tehri Garhwal district is located on the outer ranges of the mid-Himalayas which comprise low line peaks rising contiguously with the planes of the northern India. Uttarkashi from the north, Rudraprayag from the east, Pauri Garhwal from the south and Dehradun from the west are bounding this district. On the western front Yamuna river separates it from Jaunsar Pargana of the Dehradun district while Bhagirathi rising from the north of the Gangotri in the district Uttarkashi touches the district near village Nagun. Total area of the district is 4421 sq km (Census 1991). The district headquarter is located at New Tehri Town since 01 April 1989, Earlier Narendranagar was the district headquarter.

A major portion of the district is having hilly tract. The plain area is more fertile than the plateau area. Bulk of the area of the district is under forest which occupies a place of importance not only in the ecology but also in the economy of the district. These forests are rich in vegetation. Wood of commercial value is produced. These forests are also famous for production of herbs and plants of medicinal value.

Tehri is accessible by road at a distance of about 72 km from the nearest rail-head of Rishikesh through NH-94. The list of villages selected under the project in Tehri district is as follows.

List of Cluster and Corresponding Villages in Tehri District

S.N.	Cluster	Name of Village	Block	Number of Households	Total Population
1	Banglon ki Kandi	Banglon ki Kandi	Jaunpur	137	815
2	Saur	Saur	Chamba	60	327
3		Chopriyal Gaon	Chamba	93	404
4		Arakot	Chamba	115	431
5		Chaukhal	Chamba	8	28
6	Kuthha	Kuthha	Chamba	167	689
7		Panchkoti		NA	NA
8		Gajana		44	188
9	Mukhem	Mukhem	Pratapnagar	196	1124

DESCRIPTION OF CLUSTERS AND SELECTED VILLAGES

Cluster -1: Banglon Ki Kandi Cluster

Banglon ki Kandi village is located in latitude 30°-29’ north and longitude 78°-02’ east on Mussoorie- Yamnotri highway, 12 km away from famous hill tourist destination Mussoorie.   The village is situated about 1600 meter above sea level.   The village has a sub-temperate to temperate climate, which remains pleasant throughout the year.

The maximum temperature recorded in the area is 32 °C in the month of June while in the higher ranges of villages it rises up to 25°C. Temperature descends to below 0°C in December –January and the higher ranges receive snow. The average monthly temperature for the village ranges from 20°C to 25°C. The densely forested slopes receive adequate rainfall generally commencing from mid-June and extending till mid-September. Adequate rainfall is also recorded in winter. 

Cluster-2: Saur Cluster

There are four village namely Saur, Chopriyal, Arakot and Choukhal comes under Saur cluster. Village in the cluster are situated in between the famous tourist destination Mussoorie and Chamba, 34 kms and 11 kms respectively. Saur cluster is located in latitude 30°-23’46.2” north and longitude 78°-19’10.9” east on Mussoorie- Chamba state highway. Altitude of the villages from sea level ranges from 1500 to 1700 mts. Climate is sub temperate to temperate. Temperature varies 0oC in winters and in summer its rises up to 30oC. During winter period the upper ridges of village receives fairly enough snow fall which attracts many tourist from the plain areas. Oak, Dendrocalamus, Rhododendron, Deodar and pine is widely spread over with different varieties of bushes of herbs shrubs and grasses. Biodiversity is the beauty of the forest.

Cluster-3: Kuthha Cluster

Two villages Gajna and Panchkoti are located about 12 km away from block office Chamba near to the Tehri Lake. Chamba, a hilly town offers experience  of both mountain's scenic beauty and water sports for tourist. Tehri Lake is now an emerging tourist destination, it is spread over 45 km2 and government of Uttarakahnd tends to develop it as aqua sports destination. Boating Kayaking and many other water related sports will attract visitors from the India and abroad. Panck Koti is a small Village/hamlet in Thauldhar Tehsil in Tehri Garhwal It is located 15 KM towards west from District head quarters Tehri. 42 KM from State capital Dehradun. Tehri , Chamba , Mussoorie , Dehradun are the nearby Cities to Panck Koti. Kutha village is located in an ideal Tehri dam lake view sight. It is surrounded by Bauradi village, B puram , Jakh village and the bottom side Tehri Lake. Most of the people had migrated to plane areas in search of employment, but still it is the most populated village in the area. It has three famous temples of Aghornath devta in the East , Maa bhagwati in the west and Nagrja devta in south.

Cluster-4: Sem Mukhem

Sem Mukhem Temple is one of the main attractions of Tehri-Garhwal. Sem Mukhem Temple, dedicated to Nag Raja, lies at an altitude of 2903 m above sea level at a distance of 7 km from Khamba Khal of Tehri-Garhwal. At a height of 2903 mts., situated in the interior of the district, the temple of Nag Raja at Sem Mukhem is held in high esteem by  the people of the area. Transport facilities are available up to Khamba Khal, a distance of 64 kms. from Tehri. One has to walk for about 7 kms. from the Khamba Khal to reach Sem. The temple is situated at the top of a hill about 5 kms. from the village Mukhem which is 2 kms. from the motor head of Khamba Khal. Accommodation is provided by the ‘Pandas’ of the village Mukhem .  The temple complex is surrounded by rich forest resource has wide variety of flora and fauna.