MAITHON

        Maithon has an exciting 'buy one get one free' offer. A visit to Maithon means visiting some breath-takingly beautiful spots of West Bengal as well as the neighbouring state of Jharkhand. This is because the Maithon project of DVC is housed by both West Bengal & Jharkhand.

        Damodar Valley Corporation came into existence in the month of July,1948. Now it's difficult to imagine what the emaciated Damodar was like in the past. It was the deadly Damodar devastating Bengal & southern parts of Bihar ( now what's called Jharkhand) every monsoon. In 1943 the flood situation was so serious that Kolkata was marooned & cut off from rest of the country.

       DVC was formed to manage Damodar & perform other functions like irrigation , power generation etc. It was India's first multi-purpose river project. Dr.Meghnad Saha played major role in it.


        Maithon dam was inaugurated  by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1957.It's different from other three DVC dams as it's constructed not on Damodar river but Barakar. The underground hydel power station, the first of its kind in south east Asia is situated in Burdwan district of Bengal & rest of the project in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand.


        Barakar river is captivated in a vast reservoir spreading over an area of 65 sq. km. This is the biggest DVC reservoir. It acts as the canvas on which Nature paints with beautiful colours. There are hills of various heights in the reservoir. Hills in green drapes standing in the midst of vast blue of water soothe the nerves.

MAITHON RESERVOIR

        There are some islands in the lake whose shapes are amazing.

SPOON ISLAND

TORTOISE ISLAND

         One can reach such an island named Swabuj Dwip (Green Island). There are small bridge,chairs & merry-go-round,all in the thick vegetation  on the small island. It's maintained by the West Bengal Govt.
         Boating is a must. Most of the tourists opt for speed boats. But I suggest that you ride a country boat in the setting sun. It's riot of colours in the sky, on the water, all around you. It's one hour of playing holi !

SUNSET

 

        BHANDAR PAHAR

        The first thing I want to say about Bhandar pahar is ' looks are deceptive'. The hill,nearly 2 km away from Maithon dam is 170 ft high, according to the locals. A flight of stony staircase welcomes & starts taking you to the top. 

        After scaling a considerable height you'll go "OMG!!!!!" discovering the flight of staircase has come to an end & the only option is climbing or crawling over the rocks to reach the temple atop. 

        More than 50% of the distance is covered by trekking amid a pretty dense forest. You'll hardly find any people around you. The temple is named after Amarnath. The linga is white. Shivratri is observed with pomp,up there.

WAY TO BHANDAR PAHAR

AMARNATH SHIV MANDIR ATOP BHANDAR PAHAR

   

        KALYANESWARI TEMPLE

        Bengal is the abode of Goddesses. Each and every district has at least one temple of either  Goddess Durga or Goddess Kali which is the district's pride. Some of those temples are world-famous.

        Burdwan district is proud of Kalyaneswari temple. Ma Kali appeared as Kalyaneswari, the goddess of fulfillment. It's believed that the Goddess blesses the childless with child.The deity is different from that of Ma Kali. It is covered with a red cloth.

        Goddess Kalyaneswari was worshiped by King Harigupta in 3rd century AD.  The temple he built gave in to time and was reduced to ruins. Much later, in 16th century the King of Panchokot rebuilt the temple. The foundation is still there inside the fortress of Garh Panchokot.

FOUNDATION OF KALYANESWARI TEMPLE IN GARH PANCHOKOT

        

        Later the temple was relocated to where it is now. It is at a distance of only 4 km from Maithon dam. The temple premises is very neat and clean. The devotees stand in queue & offer puja peacefully. 

        It's a must-visit place in Maithon.

SANCTUM SANCTORUM OF KALYANESWARI TEMPLE

PART OF THE TEMPLE