Ranikhet
Ranikhet (Kumaoni: Rānikhèt) is a hill station and cantonment town, nearby Almora Town in Almora district[1] in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the home for the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment[2] (KRC) and Naga Regiment[2] and is maintained by the Indian Army.
Ranikhet is at an altitude of 1,869 metres (6,132 ft) above sea level and within sight of the western peaks of the Himalayas. Ranikhet is a Class IV town with a civic status of a Cantonment board.[3]
History
Ranikhet Polo Ground, c.1895
Ranikhet, which means Queen’s Meadow[4] in Kumaoni, gets its name from a local legend, which states that it was here, that Raja Sudhardev, a Katyuri ruler, won the heart of his queen, Rani Padmini, who subsequently chose the area for her residence, giving it the name, Ranikhet,[5] though no palace exists in the area.
Ranikhet had been under Nepalese rule after the Nepalese invasion of Kumaon and Doti in 1790, and the Kumaonis won it under the leadership of their able General Kashi Nath Adhikari – after whom the small town of Kashipur was named (which at one point of time was the gateway to the hills and is now an educational and institutional hub) – with the help of British at around 1816 and is a part of India now.
After the conquest of Almora on 3 May 1815, when Kumaon had been handed over to the British by the Gorkhas, the soldiers and officers of the British army started to live in Hawalbagh. It continued till 1839, when the army offices were shifted to Almora Cantonment and the troops were stationed at Lohaghat and Pithoragarh so as to enable them to effectively monitor the Indo-Nepal Border. However, a local rebellion in 1846 resulted in the removal of military camp from Lohaghat and the troops were transferred back to Hawalbagh where they remained stationed until the establishment of another permanent Cantonment at Ranikhet.[6]
Geography and Climate
Ranikhet Cantonment is spread over a total area of 4,176.031 acres, of which 2,580.135 acres is Reserve Forest area, 920.328 acres is Station area and 675,568 acres is Military area.[18]: 155 The cantonment is spread across two ridges, the first, called the Ranikhet ridge, is situated at an elevation of 5,983 ft (1,824 m) and the second, the Chaubatia ridge, is at an elevation of 6,942 ft (2,116 m). The Ranikhet Cantonment Board – a 14 membered board formed under the Cantonment Board Act of 1924 – looks after the administration of the town. Ranikhet is a first class cantonment, and is divided into 7 wards for administrative functions. Of the total 14 members in Ranikhet Cantonment Board, 7 are elected from these wards.
Ranikhet receives snowfall during winters.
Ranikhet has an average elevation of 1,869 m (6,132 ft) at a distance of 50 km (31 mi) from Almora and 60 km (37 mi) from Nainital. Administratively, the town is a part of Almora district; located to the west of district headquarters. It houses the headquarters of the Ranikhet tehsil and Ranikhet sub-division. The western narrow strips and eastern part of Ranikhet are comparatively high and covered with a dense forest mainly of pine.[19]
Ranikhet is nestled in the sylvan surroundings inhabited by pine (Pinus roxburghii), oak (Quercus), buransh (Rhododendron arboreum) and deodar (Deodar Cedar) forests that host a large variety of fauna, such as leopards, rhesus monkeys, pine martens, Himalayan langur, dhole, rabbits, barking deer, sambar, and more. Exotic plants of Ranikhet include Ginkgo biloba and saffron.[20]
Ranikhet becomes very cold in the winters and remains moderate in summers,[21] and is best enjoyed from March to October. Ranikhet gets snowfall in the winter season, mainly in the months of December, January and February. But in the rest of the months the weather of Ranikhet remains pleasant.