Tipari (Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand) - A Tourist Destination

LOCATION

Village Tipri is a revenue village comes under Gram Pancyat Tipri Goan which lies in Jakhanidhar tehsil in Tehri Garhwal District of Uttarakhand State, India. It is located 12 Km towards west from district head quarters Tehri and 103 KM from State capital Dehradun on Chamba Ghansali road. The village is located on the bank of Tehri lake ideal for hosting tourist visiting lake for water sports activities. Tourist visiting Kedarnath, Badrinath from Mussoories, Rishikesh, Dehradun passes through the Tipri village, therefore it is one of the village located on the route to two Dhams.

This middle Himalayan village lies at slope with the geographical coordinates of Latitude 30.3455 and longitude 78.3947. Situated at an elevation of about 800 meter above from sea level,  climate of Tipri escapes the extremes of nature. Throughout summers, that generally start in May and lasts till the month of June/ July, the days remain hot and a bit sultry. The temperature soars to a maximum of 40 degree C. But the heat is mild and moderate. The temperature may fall to a minimum of around 29 degree C, with little rainfall during the nights. The cold season in the village is enjoyable, and generally starts during the month of November and lasts till the end of February. The maximum temperature remains around 20 degree C. Evenings are comparatively cooler than during the day time, with the mercury level falling to a minimum of around 5 degree C. Winter showers may also be experienced throughout this season, which makes the climate damp and cold. After the summer heat, monsoons are very welcoming in the region. Rainy season, generally start in mid-July and last till autumn in September. Frequent rainfalls are experienced throughout daytime. The average rainfall is recorded at 1836.7 mm.

The rich forest area adjacent to the village is basically a mixed species forest with a certain proportion of pine, pine, bushes and grasslands. At the higher elevation oak species is also found in the reserve forest. The inhabitations of local people meet the need of fuel, fodder, small timber and thatch grass from this forest. The main wild animal of this area include the black bear, dear, common leopard, etc. The rich and exotic avifauna of in and around village makes it a birdwatcher’s paradise. Its colorful avifauna comprises, inter alia, several species of thrushes, woodpeckers, barbets, flycatchers, swifts, tits serow, golden eagle, bearded vulture, snow cock, steppe eagle black eagle and the one mustn't forget the peculiar -- and ubiquitous – jet black jungle crow.

SOCIO ECONOMIC FEATURES

Tipri is a medium size village with total 188 families residing. The Tipri village has population of 697 of which 306 are males while 391 are females as per Population Census 2011. 

In Tipri village, population of children with age 0-6 is 75 which make up 10.76 % of total population of village. Average Sex Ratio of Tipri village is 1278 which is higher than Uttarakhand state average of 963. Child Sex Ratio for the Tipri as per census is 1143, higher than Uttarakhand average of  890.

Tipri village has lower literacy rate compared to Uttarakhand. In 2011, literacy rate of Tipri village was 73.47 % compared to 78.82 % of Uttarakhand. In Tipri Male literacy stands at 90.04 % while female literacy rate was 60.68 %.  

Agriculture combined with livestock, horticulture is main source of the economy of Tipri village. There are still 68 families who come below poverty line. The total agriculture land of the village is 144.01 hectare. The irrigated land area is about 3.36 hectare which is quite low and remaining cultivable area is rain fed.  The amount of land available for cultivation in Uttarakhand, particularly in the Tipri village is very limited as it constitutes about 45% of the total reported area.

As per the focus discussion with the village, 80% families have less than half hectare land. A large cultivable area in village is under marginal holdings, which too is fragmented and scattered. This has impeded the task of making agriculture a profitable occupation. However, the experience of Himachal Pradesh with a similar land holdings pattern shows that agriculture could be made remunerative through its focused development by providing incentives like inputs, extension, developing infrastructure, etc. The main agricultural crops grown in the village are paddy, mandua (ragi), Jhangora (both are small millets) and pulses in the kharif crop season (summer crops), and wheat and barley in the rabi crop (winter crops). Food grains such as paddy and wheat are mostly grown in valley areas that have irrigation facilities, while the other crops are generally grown in the high terraces where irrigation facilities are not available.

Mixed cropping is common in village which helps in maintaining the crop diversity and reduces the risk of environment uncertainty. Productivity of agriculture almost remained stagnant in the village over the past one decade except increase in the case of cash crops.

The area under commercial crops in village is increasing.  There has been a significant growth in the area under fruits and vegetables particularly under the potato and seasonal off seasonal vegetable.  As a result, both production and productivity of vegetables recorded an impressive increase in the village. This has become one of the additional sources of income for the villagers.

Agriculture in village is closely interlinked with animal husbandry and forestry to form a production system.  Marginal and small farmers are heavily dependent on the livestock sector as it is not only a source of milk and draught power, but its by-products such as manure help in supplementing farm income. These animals, in turn largely depend on forests for their feed. There has been a decline in the growth of population of sheep, which could be attributed to the reduction in grazing lands. Also, the village observed continuous decline in the growth of cattle population. 

ATTRACTION FOR TOURIST IN AND AROUND THE VILLAGE

 The key attractions for tourist in and around the village are following.

S.N	Attraction	Description
1	Tehri Lake	Tekri lake, which is largest artificial reservoir on Ganga river is gradually developing as a hot spot for the water sports activity in Uttrakhand. It is expected that water sport activities will attract large number of tourist from the different parts of country and outside as well.  The village located at about 15 km distance from the lake and has panoramic view of reservoir.
3	On the Pilgrimage route	Village Tipri strategically located at the pilgrimage route to Kedarnath and Badrinath. During the peak season, it is sometime difficult to get comfortable accommodation on the route. Tipri can offer an experience of home stay with local cuisine and tradition.
5	Cultural life of local community	The villages of Uttarakhand are culturally very rich. The peculiar traditional housing pattern, costumes, fair festival, food, folk music and dances, agriculture practices and animal husbandry practices can attract visitors across the world. Villages have a very simple, yet delicious cuisine. The food is nutritious as well as tasty. Coarse grain with high fiber content is very common in Uttarakhand cuisines. Music is an integral part of the Uttarakhand culture. The calm and serene ambiance of this place surrounded with hills and mountains has inspired many musicians to compose great tones. Some of the popular folk songs are `Mandals`, `panwaras` and somber `khuded`, `thadya` and `jhoda`.these folk songs are composed on the beats and nodes of Dhol, damoun, turri, ransingha, dholki, daur, thali, bhankora and masakbhaja. Though, many traditional practices are gradually disappearing from the village. Promotion of rural tourism may revive the traditional culture of the villages.