Pauri Garhwal History

Pauri Garhwal History

Pauri Garhwal district was a part of the erstwhile Garhwal Kingdom ruled by the Pal (Shah) dynasty. The throne of the King was at Srinagar. In 1803 Gurkhas, after many unsuccessful attempts, finally succeeded in capturing Garhwal by defeating the army of King Pradyumna Shah. In 1816, the British defeated the Gurkhas in the Anglo-Nepalese war, and the Garhwal Kingdom was reestablished from Tehri. However, the eastern part of Garhwal (named as British Garhwal), along with Kumaon, was merged with British India as a result of the Treaty of Sugauli.

After independence it was known as Garhwal district and further divided into Pauri Garhwal and Chamoli districts in 1960. In 1997 an additional area was carved out of the Pauri Garhwal and merged with parts of Chamoli and Tehri Garhwal districts to form a new district named Rudraprayag.

The climate of Pauri Garhwal is very cold in winter and pleasant in summer. However, in Kotdwara and the adjoining Bhabar area it is quite hot reaching high 30s Celsius during the summer.

The main occupation of the population is agriculture. Besides, army / para-military forces and teaching are a major source of employment for young people. Due to the lack of required infrastructure and the geography of the area, there are no major industries in the district. However, some industrial units have been established around Kotdwara.

The most common mode of transport is either bus or taxi. Bus services are provided by the state-run Uttarakhand Roadways, Garhwal Motor Owner Union (GMOU) Ltd. and Garhwal Motor Users (GMU) Ltd. Operations of the Uttarakhand Roadways are limited mainly to Inter-state routes and major cities/towns of the district/state. GMOU Ltd. is the largest bus service provider of the district, providing services to almost all places of the district. The services of GMU Ltd. are limited to comparatively smaller area adjoining the Kumaon division. Also there are a number of Taxi Unions in many towns of the district, providing services for almost every stretch of the road.

The only railway station of the district is at Kotdwara, which was established by the British as early as 1889. As Pauri Garhwal district is situated at the Shiwalik range, the outermost range of the Himalayas, its hills are very inconsistent. As a result it is not considered feasible to extend the railways network.

Pauri Garhwal district does not have any regular air service. The nearest airport is Jollygrant, Dehradun, about 155 km from Pauri and about 120 km from Kotdwara.

Pauri, Kotdwar and Srinagar are major centres of education in the district. The only University of the district is Hemvati Nadan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar