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.