Joginder Nagar, Himachal Pradesh

   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.