Savoy Hotel’s reopening brings back memories of bygone era
Ajay Ramola

Dignitaries pose for a group picture at the hotel during British days.

Mussoorie, June 3
The reopening of the historic Savoy Hotel after its renovation has enlivened the memories of the bygone era among the resident of Mussoorie. Hotel Savoy was reopened at a formal function on June 1. It was attended by the erstwhile maharajahs of Nabha and Jind along with several eminent authors who penned down the history of the hotel in some or the other form namely Ganesh Saili, erstwhile royal member from Nabha Hanumant Singh and another royal from Jind Indu Singh.

Author Ruskin Bond, who was the chief guest on the occasion, along with Suresh Kumar and Kishore Kaya, both chairmen, Fortune Group, ITC, and RP Singh, Managing Director of the group, inaugurated the hotel reopening function by lighting the ceremonial lamp.

Eminent author Ruskin Bond (second from right) during the reopening of Hotel Savoy along with other dignitaries The historic Savoy Hotel glitters back to glory with its reopening in Mussoorie.

Later, speaking to meadiapersons, eminent author Ganesh Saili said it was indeed exciting to find Bond and himself in the “scene of crime” i.e. Hotel Savoy, once again.

Saili reminisced the history attached with the hotel and said, “Come summer or winter, the old Savoy was always a great watering-hole. This was where Bond and I met a whole gamut of characters, film stars, rogues, politicians, business tycoons, fly-by-night operators and some fading beauty queens”.

He said the credit for the old building goes to Cecil D Lincoln, a barrister from Lucknow.

“It’s all his, the English gothic architecture, its fine proportions, its lancet-shaped narrow windows along the corridors and verandahs. A visitor can still spot the original school emblem; a three-leafed clover peeping from the eaves,” said Saili.

He said two simple spires without any parapet surmounted the corners of the main building, which constituted the main façade.

“When one considers the fact that the first motor car came to the hill station in 1920, one can only admire the sheer ingenuity and dogged perseverance of those early settlers. Men and materials trundled up the bridle path from Rajpur aboard lumbering bullock-carts with the massive Victorian and Edwardian furniture, billiard-tables, grand pianos, rotund barrels of beer, cases of champagne and cognac, all the accoutrements of a grand hotel,” he added.

Launched in 1902, the hotel was ‘like a phoenix rising from the ashes of a school’, a local scribe said.

Royalty was to grace the station four years later, the Princess of Wales and after that Queen Mary attended a garden party at the Savoy grounds. No sooner had she left, a severe earthquake hit Mussoorie. Many buildings were flattened and the hotel had to be closed for a year. However, by 1907, it was up and ready to go again, Saili said.

“In between the two Great Wars, in the ‘gay 20s’, Mussoorie entered its days of wine and roses. The Savoy orchestra played every night, and the ballroom was full of couples dancing the night away,” he said.

Saili also recalled that the visitors book used to be a veritable who’s who of Mussoorie’s early history, the Dalai Lama and Panchem Lama, Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia, Prince Norodum Sihanouk and even the Nehrus, from Motilal, Jawaharlal, Indira to Rajiv, the Gaekwads of Baroda took an entire block. During the Second World War, British and American military officers on leave sought amusement in the hills and partied till day break, he added.

“The legend has it that the sale of whisky used to be so high that Lincoln would have the empty bottles from the previous day’s sale, collected and brought down to the cellar. Gently he would coax every last drop from each bottle. Miraculously, there would be two full bottles that would come in handy for free-loaders and house guests the next day” he said.

Speaking on its reopening, Saili said at the turn of the century, the hotel had begun to feel its age. Now it had taken years of repair and restoration to throw its doors open in a new avatar.

“After all, visitors want more than history and atmosphere. They want a little fun while they are on holidays and Mussoorie has a tradition of fun and frolic. That tradition, fortunately, continues. The magic is back again,” he added.

631 Gentlemen Cadets hold impressive parade for Deputy Commandant at IMA
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 3
The 631 Gentlemen Cadets and the 74 Foreign Cadets put up an excellent show at the Deputy Commandants’ parade held at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) here today. The Gentlemen Cadets marched elegantly while singing the IMA song. Maj Gen Bobby Mathews, Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor, Indian Military Academy, reviewed the parade. He complimented the young cadets for having reached the doorstep of a world filled with challenges and responsibilities combined with glamour and adventure.

He said, “You have overcome an arduous and demanding military training that has tested your mental and physical limits enabling you to take place among Army officers. With this honour also comes responsibility of leading men under your command when called upon to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country”.

He emphasised on the current challenges and the role of the Army in nation building. He said “We face security challenges like proxy war, insurgency and terrorism. We need to be watchful and be ready to thwart any misadventure”.

He said the Gentleman Cadets were the flag-bearers of the new age, destined for greater participation in the security and prosperity of the country. He said now the Gentlemen Cadets had transformed into true soldiers who should always remember to uphold the integrity of the Army through their exemplary bearing and personal conduct. The Deputy Commandant complimented the cadets for their impeccable turnout and excellent display of drill.

“I am sure you will lead by example and inspire your men to follow you by demonstrating a high degree of professionalism and discipline. Spare no effort when training your men and never compromise on performance standards. You should strive to be leaders who are professional, committed, caring and always act with integrity,” he said. He wished the cadre a rewarding and fruitful career.

Father meets DGP Satyavrat Bansal over girl's ‘murder’
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 3
Shyam Dutt Joshi, the father of Priyanka who was found hanging from a tree near Vijay Park on February 28, today met Director General of Police (DGP) Satyavrat Bansal and accused the Sahaspur police of not arresting and interrogating key suspect Anil Kumar in this case.

Joshi had earlier protested in front of the police headquarters demanding the arrest of his eldest daughter Krishna and Anil, who used to stay with Priyanka in a rented accommodation at Vijay Park. They had been taking coaching for competitive examinations. While the police arrested Krishna, it did not take Anil into custody.

Joshi alleged that the police seemed to be under some influence or pressure and that was why it was not arresting Anil.

He said when he went to meet his daughter Krishna in jail, she accused Anil of killing Priyanka.

He said the doctor who conducted the post-mortem of his daughter neither mentioned the cause of the death in the report nor clarified whether it was a murder or suicide case.

He said the injuries on his daughter’s head and throat indicated that she was stabbed before being strangled. DGP Satyavrat Bansal had also given directions for an extensive interrogation of both Krishna and Anil in the matter.

SHO (Sahaspur) Surya Bhushan Negi, who has been handling the case, said it was a suicide case and the postmortem report, too, corroborated it. He said the two injury marks on the deceased's throat clearly showed that she attempted to slit her throat before hanging herself.

The SHO had it been a murder case, the accused would have stabbed deep in her throat and not left superficial wounds.

He claimed that Priyanka did not have cordial relations with Krishna and both used to quarrel with each other.

He said during interrogation, Anil had said that the day Priyanka left the house, she had a quarrel with her sister.

SHO Negi alleged that the girls' father, who married twice, wanted to get rid of both of them and that was why he had been demanding Krishna’s arrest.

Sanitary workers protest over their demands
Tribune News Service

Dehradun June 3
The Uttaranchal Sanitary Workers Association today protested before the office of Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA) of Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) over their demands. The group led by president of the association Somu Selvan demanded the regularisation of the services of the employees as per the Government Order released on September 25 in year 2004 on the matter.

He further demanded promotions, payment of salary and other emoluments every month, declaration of the members of Mohalla Swachata Smiti as contractual workers, filling of vacancies of supervisor and sanitary worker, beautification of Valmiki temple in the premises of DMC, disposal of aggregate insurance amount, land allottment to sanitary workers and pension facility for the retired employees.

Since MNA Ashok Kumar did not come to office today, the association will hold a protest tomorrow as well.

Meanwhile, when the association members were holding dharna, sanitary workers of the Safai Karamchari Sangh, another group, demanded election of the th eesanitary workers’ body. Their president Inderjeet said for past seven years, the elections for sanitary workers body was not held whereas it was necessary to do so every two years. He said the MNA, after declaring the date for election on June 15, had cancelled it under the pressure of Semu Selvan and his group. He demanded election for the association this year.

The MNA could not be contacted for his version.

Chief Secretary reviews admin reforms
Tribune News service

Dehradun, June 3
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar reviewed the recommendations of the administrative reforms committee at a meeting held here today. He found that most of them had been implemented. It was revealed at the meeting that steps had been initiated in the direction of e-governance, including e-procurement, e-payment, e-stamping. All these had been implemented in financial management. Data of all treasuries and sub-treasuries was available online and all departments had their own portals.

Secretary (Panchayati Raj) Kunal Sharma said district planning committees had been created in all the districts. Zila and nagar panchayats had generated their own sources of income and panchayat bhawans had been built in most of the panchayats. Secretary (Disaster Management) Bhaskaranand said recommendations of the reforms committee had been implemented .A state Disaster Management Authority and District Disaster Management Authorities had been constituted. Secretary (Co-operatives) said Shakari Parishad and state election authority had also been set up. Co-operative committees would be made self sufficient, he added.

Secretary (PWD) SS Sandhu, Secretary (Finance) DS Garbyal, Secretary (General Administration) SS Rawat, Commissioner Garhwal Suvardhan, Additional Secretary (PWD) Amit Negi, Additional Secretary (Home) MK Joshi, Dehradun District Magistrate VVRC Purushottam and Haridwar District Magistrate Nidhi Pandey were also present in the meeting.

Runaway tusker creates panic in Haridwar
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 3
A tusker from the Rajaji National Park has created panic among the public near BHEL at Haridwar for the past some time. It hit a car and a motor cycle yesterday on the bypass road. Sending the animal back to the forest has become a big problem for the local administration as well as the forest authorities.

The tusker has refused to move towards the forest despite attempts by the forest authorities to push him back in the Rajaji National Park area. It often comes on the BHEL bypass road halting the traffic on the road for hours. However, the tusker has been coming on the road quite often for the past some time. Forest officials claimed that the tusker was old and injured due to which it was unable to climb hills and could not see properly.

A team of three veterinary doctors have been keeping a watch on the tusker. Earlier, the forest officials tried to burst crackers and fire gunshots to scare away the animal, but remained unsuccessful.