Tota Ghati -Story of a road

Dr. M. P. S. Bisht

TOTA GHATI: The most prominent accidental site at NH-58: Approximately 15 km from Kaudiyala towards Devprayag was one of the very high-risk zones that is now more comfortable and wide after road widening. Earlier while a vehicle passes through this blind U-turn a head-on collision or a speedy vehicle fall down into steep Rocky slope, minimum 200 to 300 meters deep valley side slope was common phenomenon till 2021 since 1935. The name of the place has a unique history. Which is named after a famous contractor of earlier Tehri State, Late Shri Tota Singh Rangar. As per records, he was agreed to cut this tough limestone road section with the terms and conditions that after finishing the job work the place will be named after him only. And the then Garhwal King H E Shri Narendra Shah ji allowed making this Road covering his Tehri State from Rishikesh to Kirtinagar during 1931 to 1935 under the supervision of his Diwan Pt Chakradhar Juyal. It was believed that Contractor Tota Singh Rangar ji lost most of the property and assets to construct this road section. Friends, why I am writing this; my idea is that historical places like this must be highlighted with some #signage so that people will know about our unsung heroes of Uttarakhand like Madho Singh Bhandari at Maletha, Shriyantra at Srinagar, Famous Maneator of Gulabrai at Rudraprayag, etc. We have n number of sites in the Garwal and Kumaon regions. These important vintage sites will also attract tourists from other parts of the country as well as abroad.