Botanical park near Tehri lake thrown open to public

Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, May 4

The Jakh-Koti botanical park developed after a painstaking work of two years with an objective of conserving the rich bio-diversity around

the Tehri Dam lake has finally been opened for tourists near Koti in district Tehri today.

Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC), the organisation running the power project in the Tehri Dam lake, was funding the project but from today it would be managed by Jakh-Koti botanical park eco tourism development committee formed in the presence of senior officials today.

The committee will run the botancial park on the same pattern as Dhanaulti eco park and would assist in providing employment to the local community through tourism activities and preserving the environment around the Tehri Dam lake, bringing in much needed revenue for the district. The botanical park has been developed by forest department of Tehri on the Chamba-Uttarkashi road near the Tehri Dam lake, 250 metres away from Koti Colony at a height of 890-1010 metres above sea level.

Narendar Singh Sariyal from Jakh village was elected as a secretary in an open meeting held at Jakh village where the senior officials from forest department were also present.

Chaman Singh Sariyal was elected to the post of treasurer along with 15 others as members of the committee here.

The president and joint secretary from the forest department will also be part of the committee as president and joint secretary and assist the villagers in managing the botanical park.

According to the forest range officer, Surkhanda, and in charge of the botanical garden BP Badhani more than 500 native species, including herbs, trees, bamboo etc have been planted in the botanical park here. Presently the trees of kaafal (Berry) and apple are laden with fruits and present a beautiful photo opportunity for the tourists.

The tourists would also be delighted to see the trees of bhojpatra, chinar, sandalwood, almond, guava, rudraksh, maulshree and many other herbal varieties growing under one roof in the botanical park here, apart from several flower species, said Badhani.

The botanical garden would also attract several bird species with such wide variety of plant species available for them to feed on in the park in addition to the panoramic view of the lake witnessed from for the sheer delight of the tourists visitng the Tehri Dam lake area, added Badhani.

DFO, Tehri 1 range, KB Singh, forest range officer, Tehri Dam lake, Darshan Lal Kothiyal and others were also present on the occasion.