Panchgani

History

Panchgani was developed by the British during the British Raj as a summer resort under the supervision of Lord John Chesson in the 1860s. Panchgani was developed as a retirement place because its climate remained pleasant throughout the year. He surveyed the hills of this region with Rustomji Dubash and finally decided on this nameless area around the five villages: Dandeghar, Godavali, Ambral, Khingar, and Taighat. The place was aptly named Panchgani, meaning "land between five villages", and Chesson was made the superintendent. To develop the infrastructure, Chesson encouraged various professionals - tailors, dhobis, butchers, vegetable vendors, building contractors - to also settle in Panchgani. The area below the bazaar was allotted to them, and is now known as the gaothan. He is credited with planting plant species from the western world in Panchgani, including silver oak and poinsettia, which have flourished since then in Panchgani. Chesson was buried in the graveyard of St. Peter's Church. In 1971 or '72, his death centenary was observed in a big way, when for the first time, the town folk and the schools participated together in a ceremony to remember the founder of Panchgani. A number of schools were started in the 19th century across different communities, and Panchgani started flourishing as an educational town. In the 1890s, Kimmins High School was started for European boys and girls. 1902, the boys' section separated to become European Boys High School, now known as St. Peter's School, Panchgani, and Kimmins became an exclusive girls' school. In 1895, the Roman Catholic order of nuns known as "Daughters of The Cross" started St. Joseph's Convent School, Panchgani. All three boarding schools were modeled on the English Public Schools of that time, and…

Geography

Panchgani is nestled in the middle of five hills in the Western Ghats alias Sahyādri mountain ranges. There are five villages around Panchgani named Dandeghar, Khingar, Godavali, Ambral & Taighat. The Krishnā River flows in the valley on which the Dhom Dam has been built approximately 9 km from Wai. The east of the Panchgani is Wai, Bavdhan & Nagewadi dam, at west is Gureghar, at the south is Khingar & Rajpuri & on the north is Dhom Dam. The five hills surrounding Panchgani are topped by a volcanic plateau, These plateaus, alternatively known as "table land", are a part of the Deccan Plateau, they were raised by pressure between the earth plates. The area has high seismic activity, with an epicenter near Koynānagar where the Koynanagar Dam and a hydroelectric power plant have been built. In recent times, Paachgani has been facing ecological problems because of poorly controlled commercial activities, excessive traffic, and temperature inversion (because of humidity) from the new dams which have been built in the vicinity for water storage.

Most-observed species

• Red-whiskered Bulbul

  Pycnonotus jocosus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  775
• Red-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  582
• White-cheeked Barbet

  Psilopogon viridis (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  461
• Indian Scimitar-Babbler

  Pomatorhinus horsfieldii Sykes, 1832 · Aves
  422
• Pied Bushchat

  Saxicola caprata (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  396
• Large-billed Crow

  Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827 · Aves
  390
• Jungle Babbler

  Turdoides striata (Dumont, 1823) · Aves
  388
• Spotted Dove

  Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  298

Most recent

• M 4.3 — 2019-06-20
  26 km S of Koynanagar, India
• M 4.4 — 2012-04-14
  11 km ESE of M?khjan, India
• M 4.2 — 2010-01-12
  22 km S of Koynanagar, India
• M 4.3 — 2009-12-12
  17 km SSW of M?khjan, India
• M 4.4 — 2009-12-12
  26 km SE of M?khjan, India
• M 4.8 — 2009-12-12
  29 km NW of Malk?pur, India