Panoramic view of Kosi River meeting Khairna River at Khairna
Having described
Tarikhet in my previous blog, as I reiterate my steps back towards Kathgodam
from my village Badankhet in Tarikhet Block in Ranikhet Tehsil of Almora
District in Uttarakhad in Kumaon region of the State, one passes through the
junction of Ganiadholi, wherefrom the road bifurcates towards Ranikhet and
Tarikhet.Thereafter, as one heads away
from Ranikhet, one comes across villages like Pilkholi, known to the travellers
where one can buy traditional Kumaoni sweets like Choclate (a milk based
product), Bal Mithai and Singhori (remaining ones too be milk based
sweets).Thereafter, across the twenty
three kilometres journey from Tarikhet to Khairna one passes by many other
villages perched by the roadside in the following sequence - Bajol – Bhujan –
Majhera.Thereafter, one crosses the
bridge across Kosi River and turn right towards Kharina and the other road from
here, towards the left hand side, heads
towards Almora.Thus, Khairna (PIN Code
– 263135/STD Code – 05942) is also basically a junction point, wherefrom the
road bifurcates towards Ranikhet and Almora.
Ganiadholi - wherefrom road bifurcates towards Ranikhet & Tarikhet
A panoramic view of villages perched on the road from Ranikhet to Khairna
Khairna is also a
market township that caters to the needs of the villages all around it that are
situated on the road towards Betalghat and other villages of Naintial district
around it.Earlier, the two destinations
of Khairna and thereafter, Garam Pani were distinct and separate, but over the
years, with the spread of the market area along the highway, the distinction
has all but faded.There is a Petrol
pump situated in this quaint village town, being bang on the National Highway
109.Khairna is situated on the
confluence of the Kosi and Khairna Rivers, the first one flowing from Almora
side and the second one from Nainital side.Khairna is thus, placed in the valley perched in between mountains at an
altitude of 913.34 meters i.e. about 2996.51 feet above mean sea level
(MSL).Therefore, during the day time in
summers it is considerably hot and heat is modest during the nights.However, during winters it is quite cold but
not totally unpleasant.
Khairna by night - shot taken from KMVN, Khairna
A Crested Kingfisher in Kosi River - early morning shot
View of TRH at Khairna managed by KMVN - sourced from internet
There are no distinct
travel landmarks in Khairna, but can be used as a transit point while
travelling to distant destinations in the Kumaon region.Although fishing is prohibited, but one can
enjoy feeding the fishes by going down the stairs of the KMVN managed Tourist
Rest House in Khairna, which also offers a restaurant as well as rooms to stay
for the tourists/visitors.The freshly
cooked food in this restaurant has always been my favourite and whenever, I
traverse through this part, especially when travelling by train upto Kathgodam,
I stop here for either lunch or snacks and never had any complaint regarding
the quality of food.Various aquatic
birds can also be spotted in this region, especially early in the mornings and
hence a short stopover for birders is also advisable.So next time you are in Kumaon, remember this
quaint nondescript destination.
A panoramic view of main road & market of Tarikhet
Tarikhet is a big
hamlet, which is the Block headquarters that goes by the same name and
comprises of 134 village Panchayats. The STD code of the destination is –
05966 and PIN code is – 263663.It is at
a lower elevation of about 1500 odd meters above mean sea level and apart from
the Block Development Office, it houses banks, ATMs, a Primary Health
Centre, Govt. Inter College et al. With Indian
independence struggle movement in its credit, Tarikhet is a charming, verdant
and beautiful cute village nearby Ranikhet on the way to I have been away from
writing blogs for a long time and as I am struck down because of the pandemic,
while searching for smaller destinations in the region of the internet, I could
find only some scanty and scattered information.Accordingly, I decided to gather information
and put them on the internet in form of blogs for the readers and hence
starting this series as ‘Nondescript destinations of Kumaon’.In this series, I am starting with Tarikhet
being the nearest township from my village.
A panoramic view of Tarikhet from Gandhi Kutir
Tarikhet is a
charming, verdant and beautiful cute hamlet nearby Ranikhet on the way to
Ramnagar. It is a rather big hamlet, which is the Block headquarters that goes
by the same name and comprises of 134 village Panchayats. It is perched at a lower elevation of about
1500 odd meters above mean sea level, but has salubrious climate the year
round.Being the block headquarters, apart
from housing the Block Development Office, it also has two banks and their
ATMs, a Primary Health Centre, many private run as well as Government run
schools, Govt. Inter College et al. The STD code of the
destination is – 05966 and PIN code is – 263663.
Outside view of the Gandhi Kutir
Close up of the pillar commemorating visit by Gandhi ji
A plaque indicating the Gandhi kutir
Tarikhet is well
known for its association with the Indian independence struggle movement in its
credit.The recognition of Tarikhet and
its association with freedom struggle is attributable to the famous ‘Gandhi Kutiya', a small hut where Mahatma
Gandhi stayed for three days in June, 1929. Tarikhet was the nerve
center for all the activities related to the freedom struggle. This is a must
place to be visited to get the feeling of the history of India and
its independence. This prime attraction is now in a rather neglected
state here, which is the small hut known as Gandhi Kuti, where Mahatma Gandhi,
the great symbol of peace and tranquility and Father of our Nation, stayed once
during the freedom movement. This place is thus,
a symbol of India’s freedom struggle against the British Raj.
However, as you approach this venerated place, the government apathy is palpable
& noticeable straight away. The condition of the approach road is
atrocious, with no maintenance whatsoever. Even more so is the actual
Kutir, which is ceremonially spruced and decked up during the Gandhi Jayanti
etc., as informed by the local residents, or else in case when some local
leaders troop in and make tall claims, only to disappear later. The
staircase is in bad shape, the place where Gandhiji stayed was converted into a
school but the same is now in a state of total disrepair and the locals have
even removed the doors & windows from the building, that sans any kind of
security or periphery wall whatsoever. The statute of Ghandhiji that was
placed inside the Kutir and was on verge of being vandalized, has been kept in
safe custody by the Principal of the local school of Prem Vidyalaya,
Tarikhet.
The statue of Gandhi ji kept in Prem Vidyalaya in Tarkhet
The
place bristles with activities all round the year, with people moving to and
fro in the market or visiting Government offices for their works.The market is spread across both sides of the
State Highway that connects Ranikhet with Ramnagar and is the main market for
local villagers for sourcing their requirements, be it clothes or other day to
day sundry requirements.It houses some
quaint little sweetmeat shops and a few restaurants that cater mainly to local
cuisine.There is a small hotel or
rather a home stay that goes by the name of ‘Pine grove Hotel’ and is situated
in the outer vicinity of the township.The
place also offers an opportunity to visit a temple housing the famed Golu Devta,
the reverend deity of the region and also is home to a small temple dedicated
to Lord Hanuman inside the temple complex.
Thus, this destination
known as Tarikhet, although may not be a destination of great tourist
attraction, but is definitely a quaint and tranquil little destination, where
the nature lover traveler can spend a few days in solitude.
Here is a link to a short video of the destination
An enjoyable
visit to Assan Barrage – a bird watcher’s delight
(A photo essay)
A panoramic view of the Assan Barrage or Dhalipur lake
Having
visited Rajaji National Park, we headed towards Dehradun, as we also intended
to visit the famed Assan Barrage Bird Sanctuary, which is situated about 40 odd
Kms. from Dehradun.We started from
Chilla at around 9.30 A.M and headed along the Chilla Dam road, as it was the
shortest route to the destination i.e. about 97 Kms. via
Rishikeh-Raiwala-Doiwala on the Dehradun Ambala National Highway and as we
encountered some blocked roads and heavy traffic in Dehradun, thus it took us
around six hours to reach the destination, albeit with quite a few stoppages in
between.While loitering around the
barrage looking for a few birds to photograph during the previous day evening,
an elderly gentleman had approached me and he introduced himself to be a
photographer as well as a guide.During
the course of discussion he had pointed two birding spots to me, the first one
was beyond the cut on the road towards the lane leading to village Ganga
Bhogpur on the Chilla dam road itself, which was part of Rajaji Wild trail and
could be accessed by a small dirt road that digressed from the main road,
whereas the other was near ‘Bhumi Devta’ temple and at quite some
distance.So we decided to explore the
region of Rajaji Wild trail on our way to Dehradun, since this destination sat
right on our path.
Sighted a Mountain Hawk Eagle - on the way
A Rufous Treepie in Rajaji Wildlife trail
A Small Minivet in Rajaji Wildlife trail
It
was easy for us to trace the location we intended to visit and having parked
the vehicle under the shade of a tree, the driver preferring to have a cup of
piping hot tea at the road side tea stall while enjoying the morning Sun, I
proceeded towards the place, which was actually a dirt trail leading upto banks
of holy River Ganga and on its banks it bifurcated towards the opposite
directions, running parallel to the River banks.It was a wooded place with shrubs covering
most of the forest floor.However, even
before we could reach the site we had to make a stop on the road, having
spotted a handsome bird of the Eagle family, whose photograph and identity I
have placed in the blog.This
destination too appears to have a great potential for bird watchers, as apart
from water birds, I could hear a cacophony of birds chirping in the undergrowth
and I could even spot a Red billed Leothrix also commonly called the ‘Liksptick
bird’ because of its red coloured bill, but could not capture it in the camera,
as I was a bit casual in approach.Even
this short visit showed immense potential and it is advisable for the bird
watchers to have a look at this place, next time you visit Chilla.
Entry gate of Tourist Rest House at Assan Barrage run by GMVN ltd.
A group of Bramhiny ducks in the Assan Barrage waters
An Eagle flying in the sky above
We
proceeded further and were relying on the Google Map for directions, albeit
that I was also continuously back checking from locals also, as there have had
been instances where this web based application leads persons to such places
wherefrom it becomes very difficult to proceed further.I had faced this malady earlier too and this
time around also having gone past the Rishikesh Railway station, the application
led us to a dirt road that seemed to end next to a huge bridge under
construction.We were flummoxed and
after approaching some locals, we were told that if we continued along the dirt
track that was totally on undulating terrain, we would be able to reach the
road and join the traffic just after where the bridge construction ends.We followed advice, as we did not have many
more options and after many a tortuous moments, we were finally able to land of
the Ambala-Dehradun Highway.The Highway
was well kept and we made it to Dehradun in good time, but once inside the city
we were just pommelled to almost a standstill due to huge traffic snarls,
especially in the market region and we lost much time during this part of the
journey.Having gone past the market
area, we drove past the Dehradun Airport and thereafter, the traffic was smooth
again.But we were late and I was a bit
famished by now, so when I saw some people selling fresh Orange juice along the
highway, we stopped and had some quality fresh juice that immediately
rejuvenated our flagging spirits.
Bramhiny ducks in flight
Another group of Bramhiny ducks in flight
A Watercock (female) in the lake
A group of Common Coot in the lake waters
It
was almost late afternoon when we reached the Assan Barrage site and as we had
pre-booked the Tourist Rest House accommodation managed by the Garhwal Mandal
Vikas Nigam, we headed directly for the destination.But being holidays, the entire place was
choked and teeming with people.I
somehow made it to the Managers office and found that every staff had been
deployed to serve food and beverages to the customers.I showed him my booking and he directed some
staff member to lead us to our rooms, but due to very heavy rush we had to do
the honours of transferring our luggage to our rooms.Further, due to shortage of staff and coupled
with heavy rush on that day, despite placing order for some snacks etc., as we
were already a famished lot, I had to remind them for food for quite a few
number of times, before the same was delivered.
A pond heron in the lake
A large conglomeration of water birds away from prying eyes of humans - on distant side of the lake
A pair of Red crested Pochard along with other water birds in the lake
A Ferruginious Pochard in flight over the lake
As the evening sets in - the Bramhiny ducks seek a resting place
A group of Pochard's also doze off as the evening sets in
Having
had the snacks and a cup of tea/coffee as per individual choice, we decided to
drive towards the other side of the Assan Barrage or Dhalipur Lake.This place comprises of a man-made lake that
resulted from construction of a barrage across the Asan River and a discharge
channel from Yamuna River that draws water to the Dhalipur Power station in the
year 1967.The lake with semi-marshy
conditions prevailing in some parts, spread over an area of over four square
kilometres.The altitude is merely 389.4
meters over mean sea level and is a perennial lake i.e. it has water all the
year round.As per the records, the lake
has about 53 species of water birds, of which 19
are winter migrants from Europe and Asia. During this period a record of 90% of
the water birds population comprises the following 11 (Eleven) migratory
species, namely Brahminy Duck, Pintail, Red Crested Pochard, Gadwall, Common
Pochard, Mallard, Coot, Wigeon, Common Teal, Tufted Duck, and Shoveller. We drove across the barrage and headed left
towards the village side to watch the birds and were glad that we did so, as
many of the birds preferred the isolated region, away from the hustle and
bustle of the barrage area, which has a constant flow of traffic. We spent some quality time watching and
photographing the birds and as the evening set in, we headed back to the
Tourist Rest House (TRH).
A group of Red crested Pochards at Assang Barrage TRH
A Grey Hornbill at the Assan Barrage TRH
Some Greater Scaup(s) resting in Hathni Kund Barrage
Another view around Hathni Kund Barrage
By the time we arrived back at the TRH, the visiting hours
were well over and the humongous crowd that had gathered during the day the
quietly dispersed.We had the complex
all to ourselves and ordered a fresh round of snacks & beverages that not
only arrived promptly, but was prepared in much better manner.We had our dinner at the lakeside enclosure,
enjoying the food as well as the starlit night sky and calling of the water
birds, comforting each other.Thereafter, we retired for the night and the next morning was glorious
with full view of the lake and birds, I photographed a few birds in the complex
itself and also made a video that I have shared below.Then having B’fast at around 9.00 A.M we
headed back towards Delhi via Yamuna Nagar and Karnal. On the way we stopped over for a few minutes at the Hathni Kund Barrage to check out for migratory birds. However, as we approached these heavily industrialized
zones, the fog that envelopes the plains during winters made an appearance and
we were literally crawling at places due to very dense fog and at times
traffic.We reached Delhi late in the
evening and thus ended our winter sojourn for the year.
