Joginder Nagar or Jogindar Nagar is a hill station and a nagar panchayat in Mandi district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Named after Raja Joginder Sen, Joginder Nagar is terminal point of 163 km long Kangra Valley Narrow gauge railhead. Joginder Nagar is the only town in Asia to have 3 hydro-electric power stations, and hence it is popularly known as The Electric City and The City of Powerhouses. The town packs good options for sightseeing, picnicking, angling and adventure sports like paragliding and trekking. The town is known for three T's namely Trolley, Trout and Train.
History
In 1925, Raja Joginder Sen and Col. B. C. Batty planned a
hydel power scheme near the village of Sukrahatti. A narrow-gauge railway track
was laid from Pathankot to Joginder Nagar (1,220 m) to carry the heavy
machinery transported from Britain. A Haulage-way system was laid from the site
of Shanan Power House to Barot, where the reservoir was constructed on Uhl
river. After tunneling and piping the water over several kilometres from the
river Uhl to Joginder nagar, the Shanan Power House (110 MW) was built by a
team of engineers headed by Colonel Batty. Shanan Power House was the only
hydroelectric project in northern India which fed undivided Punjab and Delhi.
The vision of the hydel project scheme was to construct five
power stations using the same water that is drawn from the Uhl river. The used
water of Shanan Power House was taken through various tunnels in adjoining
Siyuri Dhar, to a distance of 8 km. A reservoir was constructed at the village
Chapprot that would be used for driving turbines in stage 2 of project at the
base of Chapprot hill. However, the plan could not be executed following the
death of Colonel Batty.
Later in 1960s, the HP State Electricity Board decided to
proceed further with the plan. In 1970, another set of turbines were added at
Bassi, a small village situated at the bottom of Chapprot hill and Bassi Power
House (66 MW) came into existence.
Despite the fact that Bassi Power House was producer of
cheapest hydro-electricity (since the project was based on tail-water of Shanan
project), no further development was seen till the beginning of 21st century.
The construction of third stage of project, Uhl Stage III (100 MW), was
inaugurated at village Chulla near Tullah with two reservoir, one near the
Machhyal Lake and another at Raktal village near Chulla, is currently under
progress.
Geography
Jogindarnagar is at north-east corner of the Joginder Nagar
Valley located in the north-western ranges of the Himalayas. The city is
situated at the north-east corner of the valley surrounded by mountains on all
sides. It has an average elevation of 1,010 metres .
The surrounding mountains are covered with thick forests of
Pine. Rhododendron (Burans or locally known as Brah ka fool) and Deodar trees
can be found at high altitude peaks like Winch Camp.
Joginder Nagar is a Zone V (Very High Damage Risk Zone) as
per Earthquake hazard zoning of India. The after-effects of the earthquake of
1905 are still visible at nearby fort Kila Karanpur.
Around Joginder Nagar
Haulage
Haulage-way Trolley: Haulage-way trolley, that goes from
4,300 feet to up to 8,000 feet using cable wire and runs on railway track.
Winch Camp
Winch Camp is the Highest hill station of Joginder Nagar at 2400
metres. A trolley track goes from Winch camp (8,000 feet) to Head-gear (8,300
feet) and then haulage way descends down to Barot.
Barot
Barot is the main reservoirs on Uhl river for Shanan and Bassi
hydel projects.
Bir-Billing
There are lots of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries
in Bir. Billing (8,600 ft.) is the hang-gliding take-off spot for Paragliding
Pre-World Cup.
Shanan Power House
Shanan Power House is the one of India's first hydroelectric power
projects was built in 1932.
Narrow-gauge Railway
The narrow-gauge railway, from
Pathankot to Joginder Nagar. This railway line has been nominated for inclusion
in UNESCO's cultural heritage list.
Bassi Power House
The generation cost of this power house
is cheapest in the India.
Banderi Temple and Kila Karanpur
Banderi temple is situated
on the hill to the north-west of Joginder Nagar. Kila Karanpur is abandoned
fort of Raja Karan Sen, son of Raja Joginder Sen.
Macchyal lake
Macchyal lake is holy lake held sacred to Machinder Devta i.e.
Fish God.
Tarangari Mahadev
Tarangari Mahadev is a holy place dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Near Yora, on the way to Bhalaridha, this is a place where 3 water streams
merge to form Rana Khadd, a major water stream.
Jhatingri
Jhatingri is a Para-gliding take-off spot amongst thick forests.
Ayurvedic Research Institutes
Ayurvedic Research Institutes is the largest Herbal Garden and
institute for research on Ayurvedic medicines and plants in North India.
Dhelu
Dhelu is a Paragliding spot where joyrides are enjoyed.
Lakshminarayana Temple
Lakshminarayana Temple is a very old temple said to be built
by Pandavas dedicated to Lord Lakshminarayana.
Baba Balakrupi Temple
Baba Balakrupi Temple is a temple of Lord Balak Nath situated
in Garoru village.
