From the deafening noise of 500MW generators ,humming of 400kv lines to pin-drop silence of pristine forest with occasional call of peacock, we have got everything in this tour.It has been a great learning experience for us and we had the enjoyment of a lifetime and for that I with all my friends thank our department and all the teachers who worked very hard to materialize this plan of ours.
 |
| Conveyor Belt at NTPC |
 |
| 500 MW Generator ,NTPC Farakka |
 |
Transmission tower
|
 |
| Farakka Barrage |
Without further introduction I will come straight down to business.
Day 1 :
First we reached Malda Town by rail ,as of now students should be able to get 50% discount of tickets but thanks to a bunch of misguiding Railway officers we could not get railway concession.Anyway , we boarded the Teesta -Torsha Express from Sealdah which departed 5 mins after the scheduled time of 1.40pm . This delay went to our favor as one was our teachers was stranded in a traffic-jam and he had our boarding passes it almost gave us a mini-heart attack.Thankfully he boarded the train just minutes before the train left.
The compartments were cleaner and better that what we thought it would be. We had a gala time in the train ,we sang and danced and gave a lot of "Bawal" throughout the journey (though I am not sure if the fellow passengers liked it ). Not surprisingly we reached Malda Town a full 1 hr late than the scheduled arrival time of 9.50 pm. Luckily we had prearranged a hotel (Hotel Kalinga : Two star in name and rent but below quality in service).After a late dinner we settled for the night.
Day 2 :
The next morning we had breakfast (not a very hearty one I must say )and started for NTPC Farakka thermal power plant by a bus that we have reserved.After almost one hour we reached our destination . First we were briefed
in a visitors briefing centre and provided with helmets.Then we entered
the plant and it turned out to be way larger than what we expected
.80mtr high boiler units , large conveyor belts for coal supply ,a large
switch-yard that looks like a jungle of metal were enough to make our
jaws drop. I am not going to bore you by giving more details about each
places.In most places photography is strictly prohibited but here are
some.
 |
| Sculpture Outside NTPC Farakka |
After the plant visit we were "dog-tired" and needed a much deserved rest but that was not to be as our train to New-Jalpaiguri was scheduled to come at Malda-Town at 11.40 pm,but that wasn't the end of the ordeal as you will soon find out.
Day 3:
Our Day 3 started at the Malda Station as the clock showed 00.00 ,the train (Bhahmaputra Exp) was 2 hours late . After a long wait the train finally arrived at 3.40 am ,we thought "oh well we'll just go in and get in the bunks and sleep peacefully", but there were some idiots who thought that they could sleep in our reserved bunks just because thats what they have been doing since the train left Delhi, it took 30 of our student and teachers to make them leave.One of them slept in the corridor and pick-pocketed the wallet of a friend to return favour before he left sometime at dawn. I zipped myself in the sleeping-bag and had a few hours of much needed sleep.
 |
| Jaldhaka |
After reaching NJP we hurried to our cars to reach Lataguri as we were already much late.Even after much request by our teachers the Jaldhaka Plant Authority gave us a deadline of 12 noon.After two hours of drive through spectacular countryside with tea-gardens and jungles we reached Lataguri. Lataguri is a small town
in the outskirts of Gorumara National Park.We put our luggage in a resort and after some breakfast shot-off towards Jaldhaka Hydel power plant.
Jaldhaka is a much smaller plant than Farakka and took much less time.We took leisurely strolls around the plant and took photos to our hearts content.
After the plant visit we returned to our respective resorts.
 |
| Outside our resorts (Gorumara / Naora .. Lataguri) |
Day 4: The next morning we woke up as early as possible to book tickets for Jubgle Safari and three of us including me lost our way and ended up moving 2 more kilometers ahead of the ticket counter,the empty road with no houses and no people whatsoever....it was thrilling alright.
 |
| Me and my friends in front of the entrance of the park |
After a bit help from the locals we returned the way we came to the resort,by then the cars were ready and we boarded without any delay and our safari started.
 |
| Peacock crossing the road ,during Jungle Safari. |
For many this was their first ever Jungle Safari and we were excited,but I must say I was a bit disappointed
.Compared to my previous experiences at Kanha ,Bandhavgarh and Jim Corbett National Park Gorumara Jungle Safari offers less hours and only covers a introductory route often going through villages.We were fortunate to see an elephant (though not in the open : hence not good enough for photographs), we also saw several peacocks including one with its tail spread-out.
But surprisingly we saw no deers (saw hundreds in all other forests ),may be because we were on a more bushy trail rather than one filled with grass-lands.And just like that it ended and we returned to some extent disappointed (first timers were excited :p).
Some of us took a long walk to Naora river (pr riverbed rather) ,it was a good fun-filled experience.First of all there wasn't much water in it ,just some in the middle.We took broken sticks and wrote stuffs such that people going through the bridge can see them,it was fun.Some of us underestimated the depth and attempted to cross it ,but I don't think any of them made it.
It was our last night at Lataguri and to make the most of it we made a campfire .Though we took a lot of time building it and then our teacher told us that the locals have spotted an elephant nearby and its not a good idea to make noise so we had to stop and get to bed early, so sad(though the locals were trying to scare it off by burning crackers ,I could not understand what harm could our noise have done).
Day 5 : On this day from 4am all of us were busy as bees.We were to buy tickets for watch-towers.Unlike other forests I have visited in Gorumara chances of seeing wildlife are better from a watch-tower than a moving jeep.There are 4 watch towers..3 most popular are ..
1>Jatraproshad (named after an elephant)
2>Chapramari
3>Medela
 |
| In the jungle |
We went to Jatraproshad and because of the fog saw nothing exciting, some of our friends went to Chapramari and saw couple of Indian Bisons (Gaurs ) and another group saw pet elephants .But dont get the wrong idea the watch-towers overlook Murti river and on the other bank there are salt pits where wild animals come regularly.We could not see anything because of the fog.
 |
| Jatraproshad watch tower |
 |
| Fog blocking view from the watch-tower |
So we returned with a heavy heart as this was our last day and we did not get much.Nonetheless we had the time of our lives.
Special Thanks to :
Department Of Electrical Engineering
Jadavpur University
(Respected Teachers who accompanied us )
1. Dr.
Biswanath Roy
2. Mr. Arindam
Kr Sil
3. Dr. Biswendu
Chatterjee
4. Mr. Ayan
Kumar Tudu
Here are some more pictures for you to enjoy----
More coming soon ...
We followed the following route from Guptkashi. First we went to
Gopeshwar by the mountain road. On the way you can see two very popular
trekking /pilgrimage routes. Chopta is from where trek to Tunganath starts. Then you will pass through the village of Mandal and Sagar which are popular starting points for the trek to Rudranath. Then we reached the town of Gopeshwar (9 Km from Mandal).
From Gopeshwar we took shared jeep to the district town of Chamoli. From there we went to Joshimath and from there started the final phase of our journey.
The Majority of the road goes along Alakananda river. On the way you will see Govindghat from where the trek to Hemkund Saheb starts.
The temple town of Badrinath is much bigger and crowded than our anticipation.Thousands of people gather here everyday. The temple itself is spectacular ,standing tall with its gold-glit roof.It is one of the most colourful temples that I have seen.
Do not forget to take free coupon from counter before enetering the temple premises and standing in the long queue. The queue can be very long and it can take you anywhere between three to six hours to do Darshana. Keep your belongings and shoes near the temple within your line of sight ,preferably in a paid counter.
