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Narmada Dam

Tuesday, 06 October 2009 04:26

Narmada Dam

About:
The Narmada is Bifurcating Bharuch and Vadodara districts, this Narmada district came into existence during the year 1997. This place is located between the banks of the rivers Narmada and the Karjan at the southern parts of Gujarat state. The circumference of this district is 2,755 sq.km. and Rajpipla is the district headquarters. The places of tourist visit are Sardar Sarovar, the largest dam projects of South Asia, the Karjan Dam, Vijayraj Palace dates up 1912, Shoolpaneshwar sanctuary and Malsamot Waterfalls. There are important shrines and holy sites around such as Garudeshwar,Chandod, Shuklatirth and Nareshwar, and temples of Harisiddhi Mata, Hanuman and Gayatri Mata.

 

The Narmada Dam Project is a project involving the construction of a series of large hydroelectric dams on the Narmada River in India. The project was first conceived of in the 1940s by the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The project only took form in 1979 as part of a development scheme to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity.Of the thirty large dams planned on river Narmada, Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is the largest multipurpose project involved in the construction. With a proposed height of 136.5 m, it's also high on discord between the planners and the Narmada Bachao Andolan. The multi-purpose project will irrigate more than 18,000 square kilometres, most of it in drought prone areas like Kutch and Saurashtra. Critics maintain that its negative environmental impact outweights its benefits.

Kevadia-Narmada is the area on the downstream side of the Narmada dam consisting of light deciduous forest with many lakes, hills, streams and rivulets. It is part of an ambitious government tourism project to develop the Narmada dam area, with a golf course, hotels and water parks, all set on 1,400 hectares of land. There is a variety of plant species and wild life here, making it an excellent location for recreational and leisure activities. There are plans to develop eco friendly tourist facilities here.

Location info:
Address:Narmda Dam.,Bharuch,Gujarat,India
District:Vadodra
Nearest City:Bharuch
Langauge: Gujarati,Hindi
Best time to visit: Round the year

Climate/Weather:
Summers 23°- 44°C. Winters 10°-36°C

History:
The Narmada Dam Project is a project involving the construction of a series of large hydroelectric dams on the Narmada River in India. The project was first conceived of in the 1940s by the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The project only took form in 1979 as part of a development scheme to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity.Of the thirty large dams planned on river Narmada, Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is the largest multipurpose project involved in the construction. With a proposed height of 136.5 m, it's also high on discord between the planners and the Narmada Bachao Andolan. The multi-purpose project will irrigate more than 18,000 square kilometres, most of it in drought prone areas like Kutch and Saurashtra. Critics maintain that its negative environmental impact outweights its benefits.

Interesting things to do:

Interesting things to Visit:
Nareshwar:
Nareshwar is situated on the bank of Narmada River , about 60 km from Vadodara, in Gujarat. It is famous for the ashram established by Saint Rang Avdhoot. He came here in 1925 after discontinuing his studies at Gujarat Vidyapith. He worked as a social worker in the villages of Panchmahals District. The Ashram features a library with a rich collection of books.

 

Garudeshwar:
Garudeshwar is a pilgrim site with a holy bathing ghat, on the banks of the Narmada in Narmada District. His Holiness Shree Vasudevanandasarasvati chose to leave his mundane body at this sacred site. Garudeshwar is situated to the south of Tilakvada and to the east of Rajpipla. The Garudeshwar weir is 12 km below the Sardar Sarovar Dam.



Chandod:
Chandod is situated about 50 km away from Vadodara, in Gujarat. It is a place of great sanctity due to the confluence of Narmada, Orsang and mythical Saraswati rivers. People come here to perform Pitru Shradha. There are number of temples and a Vaishnava Bethak.Kapileshwar Mahadev Temple, situated nearby, is believed to be of great antiquity and has interesting wall paintings. A fair held here on Chaitra Sud 15 (March-April) attracts thousands of people from far and near.

Rajpapila:
This is a princely capital in Eastern Gujarat after Vadodara. This area is entangled with numerous forests and blissful nature around. It is situated on the banks of the Karjan River and at the foothills of Satpura Mountain. There is a famous palace for tourist visit and the rest of the landscape is dense forests namely Karjan forest, Dediyapada forest, Dang forest etc… the nearby hill station resort is Mal Samot.

 

Mobile range info:

How to reach?
Nearest Railway Station:Bharuch,railway station
Nearest Airport:Vadodra airport
Road Transport:State Bharuch has a good road network with good network of State Highways. The State Transport Corporation connects it to all the major cities and towns of Gujarat and other states of the country.

Nearest Visiting places:
Chanampaner:
Famously known as Chanampanri, is a erstwhile capital Chauhan Rajputs. This spot is located at the base of Pavagath hills in Gujarat and explores to be a noted pilgrimage center with great values of religious monuments. The archeological findings here exhibit the talented skills and engineering workmanship on buildings of the past. But things are ruined due to ages, yet, the charm and luxury spells out the ancient living. Pavagarh Fort, Pavagath Shakti Peeth, the Jama Mosque, Chauhan Rajput monuments, Naulakha Kotha Mansion and the 11th century Laukalish Temple are the main tourist attractions. The festival of honouring Goddess Mahakali is a major attraction that takes place at the foot of paragraph hills in the month of Chaitra.

 

Halol:
This is an industrial town, amidst the surroundings of hills, expores a glamourous outlook on landscape. Dhabadungari is a beautiful place nearby, and has a fabous old temple.

Jambughoda:
The Jambughoda Palace and Bhilala and Nayaka tribal villages are the tourist attractions. A part of the palace is now a heritage hotel. Shri Bodeli Teeth is an ancient temple located at Bodeli, is a famous Neolithic site.

Jambughoda Wildlife sanctury:
Spread over in an area of 130.38sq.km, with lush Mahuda trees around, this provides major food supply to the wildlife and the tribal. This sanctuary was established in the year 1990, and is a main home for sloth bear, leopard, hyena, wolf and barking deer. Forest rest house in kada located near the dam provides jungle living accommodation for nature loves. The best season is winter to visit. Ankaleshwar: This town is renowned as a pilgrim center with famous four Digamabar Jain temples around here, they are; Chintamani Parsvanath temple, Neminath Mandir, Adinath Mandir and mahavir Swami Mandir.

Dhumkal Sanctuary:
This sanctuary is established to mainly protect the family of sloth bear .India, being the native subcontinent for sloth bear necessary steps have taken on eradicating the dwindling population of sloth bear due to various other reasons. This sanctuary does also have tigers and leopards as a rare beast here.

Jambusar:
The Jambusar plant of Gujarat Glass Private Limited is the world’s largest pharma amber bottles manufacturing plant at a single location is situated here and brings in fame to this town. The Vishwamitri River which flows through the east is the water resources to the town. The major attraction in this place is The Shri Kavi Teerth.

Jhagadia:
It is a huge industrial estate which has been developed by the (GIDC) Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation. Chemical, Pharmaceuticals, and water Intensive industries are the well established fields of trade. This town has a temple named Shri Jhagadiaji Teerth dedicated to Shri Adinath Bhagvan, this temple is managed by a trust named Shri Jain Rikhabdev Maharaj Pedhi now stands as a prime tourist attraction.

Kayavarohan:
This spot is said to be the another ancient location of the state which ages back to 2nd century dates, it is believed that Kayavarohan does exist through each of four Yugas as per Hinduism beliefs. The sculptures and relics and some beautiful Tapas , images of Kartikeya (Lord muruga) , an idol of Uma Maheshwara are some of the archaeological specimens discovered to witness this place as ancient to the dates of Yugas…the prime attraction here is the Lakulish temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. This place is now known in short as Karvan.

Pavagath:
This place is known for its ancient beauty. Its palaces, forts and architectural values impose edifice in its heydays. But, there monuments is today under the state of dilapidated due to age and neglect. These wonders of ancestors hard work is now been considered as the world heritage site by UNESCO.

Ratanmahal Sloth Bear Sanctury:
Situated on the Gujarat-Madhya Pradesh borders and known as the famous spot of sloth bear habitat in India. This sanctuary is spread over an area of 56sq.km, on the Ratanmahal hills. The main River Panam passes through the hamlets situated on the foothills of this sanctuary. The major fauna lives in this jungle are leopard, hyena, jackal, four horned antelope, mongoose, porcupine, civet cat and fox. The common reptiles found here are cobra, common Indian monitor, python and rat snake. The fowl of the air that beautifies this sanctuary are Alexandrine parakeet, common babbler, crested serpent eagle, green pigeon, hoopoe, lesser golden backed woodpecker, racket-tailed drongo, grey jungle fowl, and black headed owlet. The best time and season to visit is October to March.

Dabhoi:
The real name is Darbhavati. The early days was ruled by the Muslims during 13th centuries. Later, Hindu rulers prevailed, wherein, Dabhoi Fort evoked to speaks facts of Hindu reign here. The four gates of the fort are carved to the core of workmanship challenge, and named as Hira Bhagol in the east, Vadodara in the west, Champaner Gate in the north and Nandod Gate in the south. Apart, from this, the town has a numerous Jain and Hindu based temples here. Raskavi Dayaram, a famous Gujarati poet who composed many garbis [devotional songs] was born in this place, that adds up a milage of spiritual and traditional living. Shri Darbhavati Teerth, Chandod, Karnali and Sankheda are the most enhancing tourist locations. Dhaboi Railway station is said to be the oldest narrow gauge rail junction in the world which also speaks about British invasion here in the country.

Karnali:
This is another temple city of the state located with nature and ghats beauty around. Karnali, basically is a twin town of Chandod lies on the opposite bank of Orsary River. Temples here are mainly dedicated to Lord Shiva, the footprint of Lord Dattatreya is a great sanctify to this town. During Chaitra month, this town celebrates a big fair that pulls in people from around the state.

Nareshwar:
Saint Ranj Avadhoot havr established an ashram here with his vast collection of books is a highlight of Nareshwar. This is situated on the banks of the River Narmada.

Sankhrda:
Indians basically are great workers in a known fact and Sankheda is a place of proof for it. The lacquer printed colourful wooden furniture is a unique identity of antique Indian art and traditional talents. The furniture is in golden, orange and brown colours with ornate design in silver are enriching the value of human talents & skills. The people mostly are carpenters here.

Savli:
Bhimnath Mahadev temple amidst a beautiful garden is the prime spot of attraction. Its remarkable entrance of morden architectural built adds beauty. The idol of Lord Krishna stands on a lotus enshrines sanctify here. It also houses a seat of Shri Harirayji, the fourth descendent from Vallabhachrya.

Nearest Petrol Pump:

Harish Petrol Pump,O/S Panigate: Ajwa Main Road, Vadodara,Gujarat,India,Ph:0265 2519911

Ghelani Petrol Pump:Vadodara,Gujarat,India,Ph:0265 2780781

Hotels/Lodge/Accommodation:
Vijay Raj Palace Hotel:Rajpipla,Narmada,Gujarat,India

 

Revival Hotel:Sayaji Gardens Near Kalaghoda,Vadodara,Gujarat,India,Ph:0265 2793535

Hotel Yuvraj:Sayajigunj,Vadodara,Gujarat,India,Ph:0265 2794439

Things to carry:

Tips & Suggestions:

Help Line/Phone Number:
Police Station:
Nearest Hospital:
Dheeraj General Hospital:Vadodara,Gujarat,India
Balaji Hospital:Opposite Vidya Vikas School,Subhanpura,Vadodara,Gujarat,India,Ph:0265 2282111
Premdas Jalaram Hospital:Swami Premdas Nagar,BH RTO,Fatehpura,Vadodara,Gujarat,India,Ph:0265 2564785

 
Society/Community Phone Number:
Links:www.newscientist.com

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