Vikasnagar: A nearly 200-year-old house made of deodar (cedar) wood in Chandou village of the Jaunsar Bawar region in Dehradun district highlights Uttarakhand's rich architectural heritage.Uttarakhand is known for its biodiversity, cultural traditions, and unique mountain architecture. In earlier times, most houses in the region were built using wood and stone due to the difficult terrain and limited resources. Skilled craftsmen designed these structures to be naturally temperature-controlled and earthquake-resistant.The two-century-old house in Chandou village is made of cedar wood and stone and has three to four storeys. Its thick walls are interlocked with wooden beams that hold the structure together. The upper floors are entirely wooden, while the roof is covered with slate stones.A special feature of the house is an underground storage room located four to five feet below the first floor. This room was traditionally used to store grains like Jhangora, Koda, Koni, Amaranth, and Phapra, millets once widely grown in Uttarakhand and now popular globally. The house also has small doors and windows. According to homeowner Shyam Singh, small doors were designed to prevent theft.Historian Srichand Sharma has urged the government to protect such houses by declaring them heritage properties. He warned that many wooden houses are being lost to fires and should be safeguarded with safer kitchens and smokeless stoves.Gajendra Singh said the home belonged to his family for five generations and has survived heavy rains and earthquakes. While cement houses are now common, he believes wooden houses are stronger and longer-lasting. Many cedar wood houses, some over 150 years old, still exist in Jaunsar Bawar.
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