Land-Use/Cover Changes in the Kewer Gadhera Sub-Watershed, Central Himalaya - Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation - page 300

Figure 12.1. Location map of Kewer Gadhera sub-watershed showing recent land-use pattern.
Color image of this figure appears in the color plate section at the end of the topic.
agricultural land, were washed away with heavy loss of life and property,
during the past decades. Infrastructural facilities such as transportation,
banking, market, and communication are lagging behind in this region.
Although, the state government has framed a plan to connect most of the
villages by roads, yet the pace of implementation of this plan is very slow.
Until recently (2010), only 20% villages were connected by roads. Also, the
frequency and number of vehicles, running on the roads, is low and the
condition of roads is bad. The people have to walk miles to do their daily
work. A small service centre namely, Narainbagar is located on the bank
of the Pindar River and on the roadsides connecting Karanprayag and
Gwaldom service centres. This service centre fulfi ls the necessary needs
of the villagers. Subsistence cereal farming is the main occupation of the
people and livelihood of the populace largely depends upon the practices
of cereal farming, livestock production, and forest-based non-timber
products on a subsistence basis. On the other hand, the availability of
natural resources—forest, water, soil, and manpower is enormous. Forests
(mostly temperate) cover above 65% of the geographical area. Emigration
to the urban areas the and Ganges valley is a very common phenomena.