Heritage value of old hotels remains unnoticed in city

Illegal hotels around the Golden Temple are raking in the moolah whereas old hotels depicting the architectural growth of the city are getting ignored by the people and government agencies. The heritage value of these hotels has gone unnoticed.

Piyush Kapoor, General Manager of Ritz Plaza, said the sprawling two acres of prime land on the famous British-era Mall Road continues to retain its old world charm as approximately 60 per cent of the area is covered by trees like palm, pine, neem, mango, amaltas and gulmohar. He regretted that no government agency ever bothered to undertake any campaign to promote the hotel.

The property is being currently managed by Ajit Rattan Mehra who said it was a favourite venue of Amritsar’s elite for hosting marriage parties in the 1980s and 1990s.

The erstwhile bungalow of Rai Bahadur Rattan Chand Mehra, who was bestowed the Order of British Empire (OBE) honour in 1872, was redesigned by then British architect Christopher and became operational in 1963. Its architecture reflected the modern architecture then prevalent in Europe while retaining the features of a 19th century bungalow.

Randip Singh who once owned a leading hotel on the Mall, said hardly a pre-partition hotel existed in the holy city. There used to be one Ambassador hotel on Court Road which was pulled down in the early 1970s to make way for a commercial building.

One of the oldest hotels in the city situated on Railway Link Road collapsed during the digging up of a deep foundation for the construction of an adjoining commercial building. Its building contained arches similar to the ones visible in Iranian architecture, locally known as Islamic architecture.

Rameshinder Singh Sandhu, a freelance travel writer, said concerted efforts by the government and people could revive old hotels in the city of Golden Temple. “In many countries, old hotels are re-branded, taken over by international hotel chains. This gives them a new life and keeps the old hotels alive. In Amritsar, there are many hotels including Mohan International which are lying ignored. The local administration can play a big role in inviting hoteliers. It can be good for the local economy as well.”

During the course of his travels, Sandhu found that in many cities, buildings got converted into hotels, be it old train stations or post offices. In Brisbane, Australia, an old cinema got converted into a tourism office. In London, many old churches became cafés or got taken over by gurdwaras. In this way, old buildings stay alive and revive, he quipped.