Finding suitable identity for Ranikhet !

D.N.Barola

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Finding suitable identity for Ranikhet !
BY:DN Barola
If you see Naini Lake people recognise it as Nainital ! What about Ranikhet? To some it is known because of the sprawling Himalayas. But there are adjoining places also from where the Himalayan Range is visible; hence we cannot claim that Himalayas belong to Ranikhet. Thus it has no such place or construction with his Ranikhet is known. In order to spot out a place or building which may be recognised as the identity of the people, we had a sample Survey in the social media’s popular site Facebook. The result is Number (1) Beautified Rani Jheel (2) Golf ground and (3) Gandhi Chowk. The detailed results have been given at the end of this article. I had in fact invited comments from intelligentsia, tourism experts, businessmen and the people at large in order to select a suitable identity of Ranikhet, which may be instrumental in attracting tourists to this place.
Ranikhet is a world famous tourist destination. The main attraction of Ranikhet is Himalayan Range. But during summers when the summer season is at its peak the Himalayas are not visible because of dust in the Himalayan area. The tourist is disappointed when he is not even able to have a glimpse of Himalayas. But in September and October i.e. autumn season the Himalayas are brilliantly visible and during this period the sky is absolutely without blemish. Our main target could be this season, when Tourists can see the Himalayas with charm and awe. The Binocular expected to be provided by the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam shortly would be instrumental in facilitating the tourists to keenly watch the Himalayas and its glaciers minutely. Our target could be that the inflow of Tourists during the autumn season should surpass the number of tourists in comparison to summers. Therefore it is most important that we are able to spot out a place which may attract tourists to visit Ranikhet in large numbers. It will not be wrong if I say that in some respect Ranikhet is more beautiful than Nainital, in spite of the fact that Nainital has a natural and a beautifully decorated and illuminated lake. But now Nainital is highly overcrowded and is becoming a polluted place. This crowed has badly disturbed the peace of Nainital. As regards Ranikhet it has the world’s longest Himalayan range spread over almost 400 kilometres in continuity. Now we also have the ‘Rani Jheel’ which has only to be decorated, beautified and illuminated. The Cantonment Board is already working on an elaborate plan for the decoration of Rani Jheel though the speed is very slow. On the top of it all, we have a peaceful atmosphere with long walks such as Nehru Road, Ranikhet Club to Jhula Devi etc. apart from some Tracking routes. Some more Walking Plaza as also some musical walking plazas have also been planned by Cantonment Board. According to the Sample Survey Rani Jheel duly beautified and illuminated is the first choice of the Facebook lovers.
In fact this small lake was perceived as a tourist attraction centre nearly 10 years ago. But the dreams of those who perceived and created it could not be fulfilled to their satisfaction. At that time it was perceived that we will have a beautiful road around the Lake with illumination all around the Lake. Only yesterday I had a car ride around the Lake. It was a ride of about a little over half kilometre. I found the road in good condition and to my surprise I saw people walking around. Some couples were also seen by me as also the group of ladies was also wandering about around Rani Jheel. This led me to believe that this place is going to be a popular walking plaza for the locals and an attraction for the tourists equally.
Some people suggested that the water which enters into the lake from the nearby places, Gadhera (rivulets) etc. should be filtered before it enters the Lake. The suggestion is good and the Cantonment Board should work it out. Aeration of the lake is another suggestion. This has been tried in Nainital Lake successfully. Yet some people suggested that Cantonment can provide 2 inch piped water which may enter deep into the lake. The resultant overflow may be tapped again for the use of the public. Our top priority should be clean water entering the lake and during summer season we should be able to maintain the required water level so that we can put fishes and some ducks in the Lake. The Cantonment Board with or even without the help of Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam and Tourist Department can do it. My friends want that the Lake should be developed like Queen’s Necklace (like Marine Drive Mumbai) or like Nainital lake. After sometime the area of the Lake should be suitably increased and a road be also constructed to link it with Rani Jheel in order to make it in round shape. The overflow of the Lake water can be used by the Cantonment for supplying it to the people at a cost, which I think the Cantonment Board is already doing.
As per local legend Rani Padmawatee wife of King Sudhardev of Katyuri dynasty used visit this place (Ranikhet) to rest amidst the green fields. She was so captivated by the place that she decided to stay there. The Raja constructed a palace for her. Since Rani used to rest in the fields the place came to be known as Rani-khet (queen’s field). Those days the Kings used to construct beautiful Pillars for the safety of the borders. One of the Pillars could be seen between the Almora Road and Yadunath Dwar near Somnath Ground. This Pillar was ceremoniously established amongst chanting of mantras as Shiv Ling in a newly constructed beautiful Temple adjacent to Shiv Mandir near Somnath Ground in September, 2015. The Pillar has images of Gods engraved on it. People believe that the Pillar dates back to the year 1450 or so. Naturally the Pillar bears testimony to the establishment of Ranikhet.
Thus this place has become very important for Ranikhet from the point of view of its establishment history. Ranikhet has three names which are very important, i.e. Rani, Padmini and Himalaya and specially the words Rani and Himalaya! I feel that most probably Mr. DN Yadav, the then Chief Executive Officer who perceived and created Rani Jheel , aptly named the lake as Rani Jheel for this reason only. I hope that Cantonment Board would think of naming or renaming some of the present and future construction work with the prefix RANI. The people are likely to follow the example.
The result of Sample Survey in the Facebook is as under.
*****************Scoreboard*******************
Name of Place…… Likes…..Comments…….Share
1) Ranee Jheel…………….55………..14…………….4
2) Golf Ground……………..50………..18……………..2
3) Gandhi Chowk …………43………..13………………1
4) China View………………35………….9……………….3
5) Church……………….. ….26………….4……………..Nil
6) Hedakhaan Temple……19………….7……………..Nil
7) Khadee Bazar…………..10…………..2……………..Nil
8) Jay Jawan Jai Kisan……9———–Nil——-………1
9) Nar Singh Ground……….6…………..2……………….Nil
10)Himalayan Range………..5————1—————.Nil
DN Barola, Director, Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, Ranikhet; Member Governing Body/Executive Council, Uttarakhand Ayurved University, President Press Club, Ranikhet & Ex-Pradesh Sachiv, Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress.