Foraging around Uttaranchal…

Day 1

It was 5 in the morning; I woke up with sleepy eyes when my friend blared horn of his car in front of my residence. His IIT day's discipline and punctuality was visible when he arrived on committed time. Hurriedly, I got ready within half an hour as we were about to start our four days trip, albeit on business mission, to Uttaranchal state.

Getting little late in starting from Delhi was also not bad as thick layer of fog was welcoming us along the way upto Moradabad. We could not increase the speed. It was already 1 pm when we reached Haldwani town, from where the upward journey towards hilly districts of Uttaranchal begins. My hydro-geologist friend was already there waiting for us. He had traveled all the night from Deharadun for the mission.

Lunch @ Atithi Restaurant on Rampur Road, little planning for the trip and a James Bond Movie consumed rest of the day.

Day 2

We started at 7 in the morning. Mr. Negi, our entrepreneur colleague, was on the driving seat. He was the senior-most and leader of the trip. With the help of various maps of rivers, print-outs from google earth and the pictorial map of HEP (Hydro-Electric-Project) sites, we started our mission of finding out suitable site for our proposed HEP project, along the river.

Away from the day-to-day busy schedules and the polluted environment of Delhi and NCR, I felt relaxed when I could breathe under the heaven-like environment of picturesque district of Almora, a fine blend of mountain beauty; ancient cultural influences, sanctified spots, thickly wooded forests, scenic valleys, quaint cottages, crystal lakes and gushing rivers……

Around few hours of drive from Haldwani and we were driving alongside the Bhimtal which is situated at a distance of 22kms from Nainital and at an altitude of 1371.6 metres above sea level. Came to know it is approximately 1700 metres by 300 metres. We could see an island hotel, to the north-east side. It is heard to be an exquisite gem in the middle of the lake. If time prevails, I wished to have a check.

From there, we moved towards Kalsa river thereby inspecting potential sites. I was hopeful of finding out abundance of water in the river as I had seen many hand-pumps on the way at the height of 1800 metres! We could see many agricultural research-set-ups along the river side and many signs of irrigation infrastructures.

We could not find suitable site on the river as the river water is told to be too low than our requirement during lean-period/dry season. Thanks to the irrigation department.

We returned from Padampuri and went towards Bhawali for inspecting Kosi River. On the way, there was a micro-hydro plant on Ramgarh River. Parked the car and had a look of the plant. It is learnt to be into existence since 1991 and still performing well. Moreover there is only a single operator to operate the whole plant! It boosted my morale. After-all this was the kind of business I was thinking of since long one-time-heavy investment and proper planning and long-term reaping of reward in the form of revenue with minimum operating cost

There was Kosi river just after Khairna. We started moving upstream along the river. We were little happy to find sizeable amount of water in the river and thought to mention a site or two on the river in the list of our potential sites.  But got little dismayed when we came know, from the local people at Kwarab (junction of Suwal river and Kosi river), that there would be little or no water in the river during lean-period. There was a fact in their saying as we could see lot of irrigation activities alongside the river at some places through open channel and at other using 'Vertical-Lifting-Mechanism'.  It was nice to learn that newly formed state has taken many steps towards agriculture-revolution in hilly districts.

Since our hope of finding out suitable HEP site on this river got faded away, we planned to move towards other rivers. For which we had to reach Bageswar district crossing Almora city, Kausani, Garur, Baijinath, Someswar. Mr. Negi took courage to cover around 150 Km till 7:30 pm. Driving after sun-set especially in hilly areas is real challenge. It's risky too for the driving enthusiasts from the plain areas.  

On the way, there was beautiful Kausani, wherein the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and many other writers had made their presence. The beauty of sun-set over snow-covered high-himalayas was magnificent. It was really exhilarating. At the hill resort of Kausani the mountains rise so dramatically as if to reach the heavens. In fact not just Kausani the entire Kumaon Hills have been known for their idyllic beauty with the huge mountains silhouetted against the sky. Kausani offers the magic of the deep pine forests and the majestic mountains. I was wondering if Kausani, at the height of 1890 metres from msl (mean-sea-level), is having tea-gardens too. But I could not see many. Attempts made to develop tea-gardens were seen alongside the road. Exploring deep pine-tree forest on the way towards Baijinath was real fun. Only regret of my hydro-geologist friend was that he was not able to see good 'kanchhis' (read-beautiful girls) there.

After crossing Garur, it was almost dark and we could not enjoy the sight seeing. We all were completely exhausted when we reached Bageswar. Mr. Negi's nephew was already there greeting us with 'Signature' at Kumaon Mandal Guest House. It was pleasant night not so cold as the place was just 900 metres from msl.

Day 3

Mr. Negi, this 55 something old entrepreneur, is really energetic. He woke up at 5, had tea and signed-off for morning walk when I and my other friends remained bundled up in blankets.  After 45 minutes or so, he came back sweating. He took bath and got ready for visiting Bageswar temple, with a local guide who was sent by his nephew. Unwillingly I got up and took bath and went to the temple with him. The temple is located at the junction of Saryu river and Gomti river. Really artistic place

We walked around sanctified places, taking blessing from Panditji and worshipping god and goddesses; wrote-off names of the persons for whom we wished for betterment in life (it is believed all wishes are granted if we write the names on the wall of one of the temples there I wonder if it is true). Then it was time to visit the office / residence of the Assistance Engineer nephew of Mr. Negi. By 8 am, we started our journey to explore near-by Rivers with the help of a local guide.

I had maximum hope that there would be potential site, for sure, on Saryu river as it is said to be generated from Himalayan Glaciers. Unfortunately entire 35 km stretch of the river was found to be allotted already to some other developers. Fed up, we went towards other rivers thereby crossing Kapkot.  At last, few potential sites, albeit of smaller capacity, was located and we decided to return. Real happiness could be seen on the face of my IITian friend and Mr. Negi. My hydro-geologist friend asked me if I was missing my 'kanchhi' (he learnt this phrase when he was working in North East states of India for many years) back home when he saw my pale face (I was suffering from stomach pain, may be due to cold or water). That fellow was real fun to have during the entire journey.

It was around 2 pm when we had brunch at Kapkot. We were divided over whether to make a stay in Ranikhet or in Almora. My hydro-geologist friend and  I were wiling to make a visit to Ranikhet but my IITian friend won the race as he had to reach Delhi next day anyhow and hence we started moving to Almora. Nevertheless, I wish to visit Ranikhet next time.

The road was much better. Still I felt like exhausted. Switched to the mobile-music I'm alive by Celine Dion followed by some instrumental songs With the soothing music and the beauty of the calm hills/rivers/thrilling curves of the roads, I felt as if my tiredness got vanished away. It was 8 pm when we reached Almora. Along the way, we enjoyed the night view of entire Almora city a sloppy city at an altitude of 1650 metres from msl. It looked like a bride on her wedding day. It was really marvelous. Again, it was a tedious job for Mr. Negi to cover around 130 km until we reach Almora city. Staying in Hotel Shikhar; walking around Almora city markets were a great experience too.

Day 4

It was time to conclude the visit. We decided to re-confirm the water level in Kosi river from local people. Our doubts got cleared upon reconfirmation. While returning via Bhimtal, we could see housing complex and cottages on the south eastern part of Bhimtal. It was really beautiful. We regretted not being able to visit the site due to time constraint. We zoomed towards Delhi via new route (this time via Kaladhungi Road). The road was in good condition. It was already 2 pm when we reached Kashipur wherefrom our hydro-geologist friend took bus to Dehradun. It was 9 pm when we reached Delhi. I call it a fun-filled-business cum entertainment trip, Love to explore other parts of Uttranchal next time.

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