Narkel kunjo: the coconut island of Tripura

It took me 25 years to finally visit Narkel kunjo, the coconut island of Tripura. I have been harking about this place since my childhood. Though it is only 115 km from the capital, this was my 1st time. I joined the overnight camping team by ‘Agartala Adventure club‘, Agartala’s 1st backpacking experience travelling group at Dumboor lake and Narkel Kunjo.

The story starts nearly 50 years ago, in the 1970s. Power starved Tripura decided to move ahead with an ambitious hydroelectric project. An artificial confluence was engineered of the Raima and Sarama rivers to submerge the fertile valley. The rivers had been glorified in indigenous folklore and mythology like the Ganga and Saraswati. Till now, thousands of devotees gather here every year on the occasion of the Uttarayan Sankranti for the holy dip. Almost 30 thousand indigenous farmers who lived and worked on the lush green Raima valley floor lost their home and livelihood. Major protests had happened during the construction. But it’s a different story altogether. The Dumboor hydroelectric project was commissioned in 1976 with an installed capacity of generating 10MW from its two units and the third unit of 5MW was subsequently installed in 1984 as a standby. It was the pride of Tripura. 

But the project has been jinxed from the start. It never generated power to capacity and because of heavy siltation of the lake owing to largescale soil erosion from the surrounding hill ranges that have been heavily deforested, the hydroelectric program has become unviable. During summers and winters every year, the project used to come to a crumbling halt as the water level in the lake drops so low that it is insufficient for the turbine to generate electricity. The expansion of the lake cannot be retained beyond 20-22 square km from 40-44 square km. Considering the project was not feasible any more, the state government had decided to abandon it and convert the 44 islands in Dumboor lake as well as land close to indigenous hamlets into tourist spots.

Nonetheless, the boat ride is something you should not miss. It takes 45-60 minutes depending on the weather. When the boat passes through the narrow valleys and reaches the broader section you feel the enormity of dumboor lake. It was a mix of fear and adventure for me. On the island, the entry fee is 30/- each person. For picnics, it is 100/-. The island was not super clean, especially the toilets I had used. Apart from that everything was amazingly beautiful. From coconut to mango trees, Sedges and grasses to boats at the ghats, nearby islands, there was something very peaceful everywhere. High volume music was playing by another group of people but somehow I was quiet. I was overwhelmed by nature, consumed by the surroundings. I could taste the gentle breeze, I could smell the grass, I could feel the Sun. Mobile connectivity was poor. Only Airtel and BSNL were working. Though I use Airtel, I put my mobile on aeroplane mode, I wanted this separation from all the attention-seeking apps. Both the sunset and sunrise was mesmerising.

As part of the activity, we set up our tents and as usual had lunch and evening snacks. There was some initial miscommunication in the arrangements, but the organisers from Agartala Adventure Club came back strong and maintained their quality throughout. I met one of my favourite college professors there, had a long conversation.