Nainital Locals Rise To Save Heritage Post Office

People of the hill town of Nainital, in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, are engrossed in a unique struggle to save a Post Office (PO) housed in a heritage building. This PO is housed in a British era building and sits at the entrance of the pristine hill station.

Recent news reports pertaining to the proposal of shifting the PO to the Tallital area of the town, have disturbed the locals who take pride in their heritage buildings.

Around 200 concerned citizens of the town have written to the Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, with copies sent to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and the local administration, underlining the importance of the building and what it means to the local ethos.

They have pointed out that the building has an immense heritage value and cannot be sacrificed at the altar of the so-called ‘development’, to facilitate the movement of the ever increasing vehicular traffic.

They have underlined that the building that dates back to 1883 should not be demolished as it has a special sentimental place in their memories.

The letter underlines that ever since Nainital’s discovery in 1841 and the settlements that followed, the British administration and also the Nainital Municipality for several years kept in mind the sensitivity of the place. This has resulted in pleasant memories for both the locals as well as the tourists.

“Presently this town is under tremendous pressure from tourism that is endangering its beauty and environment along with its heritage,” the letter states.

The locals have underlined that apart from the Post Office being a heritage building, it is also a conveniently located facility in the mountainous terrain

“That its removal will ease the pressure of the ever increasing vehicular traffic is questionable but it will surely cause irreparable loss of heritage that cannot even be imagined,” the letter adds.

The people have stated that while every effort is being made across the world to preserve the heritage, destroying this building is a dangerous thought. In fact it should be conserved and if this is done, the effort will go down in the history of this town.

They have asserted that hill stations are not recognized for their glitter or dazzle but for their natural surroundings, historic buildings and rich heritage. It is often said that one has to feel the hills to enjoy them.

Sources disclosed to this reporter that earlier also an attempt was made to demolish the building in 2003 but the postal department authorities ‘with spine’ had put their foot down making it clear in no uncertain terms that they would not allow the building to be brought down.

The locals have shared the communication that took place between the authorities in 2003 with this reporter.

In one of the letters to the district authorities the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices of Nainital Division had stated, “…it is to inform you that the Tallital Post Office building is the heritage building of this department and is more than 100 years old. The Department of Posts will under no circumstances transfer ownership.”

There is another interesting communication of that time in which a postal employee was pulled by a senior official for participating in a meeting and not opposing the move to relocate the Post Office.

The letter states, “You will recall that I had advised you, you should not have participated in the state government meeting for searching for alternative accommodation without my permission.

“The building is a heritage building of the department and it is more than 100 years old and you were asked to inform the state government that under no circumstances can the department lose its claim to this building / contemplate demolition of the building.

“You were also advised to obtain proof of the building being more than 100 years old, i.e. reference in gazetteer etc and send it to this office so that I may take up with the Chief Secretary.

“Instead of complying with these orders I find that you have further participated in the exercise of relocation of Tallital PO (Post Office). Such an attitude of disobedience of government orders is not expected from an officer of your seniority.

“Your handling of this very serious issue could cause irreparable loss to the department and the department could lose this very valuable building for which you would be held responsible.”

Sources added that even the geological experts have warned against tampering with the building as it stands on a fault and this will threaten the existence of the Naini Lake which is the lifeline of the town.

They say that according to the geological experts the Lake Bridge or Daatt for containing the water of the Naini Lake is built in such a way that the main pillars and grounds fixed in the bridge are just below the Post Office building.

The building itself is a part and parcel of the lake bridge and it is likely that if the Post Office building is disturbed, the lake bridge itself will be disturbed resulting in danger of the Naini Lake.

But what is the solution to the modern day requirements of the tourism model in vogue in the country?

Pradeep Pande, a concerned citizen from the town, said that “There is no doubt that the vehicular population will continue to increase. People are inclined to purchase big cars even if only one or two persons are to travel in them.

“Similarly, even those who cannot afford new cars are inclined to purchase second hand ones. The solution for Nainital lies in ensuring that the tourist vehicles are stopped at the entry points of Kathgodam and Kaladhungi and the travellers move in a well managed public transport. It needs to be understood by one and all that the hills are not meant to be overpopulated with vehicles.”

Talking about the majority of tourists looking for modern eating joints, gaming zones and entertainment facilities instead of heritage in the hills, he said, “there is no doubt that our sense of history is weak. We need to understand that in the past even the kings had court historians.

“Unfortunately the tourism being dished out in the hills is getting more and more sensational where people are more interested to know which film star or cricketer had visited a particular spot instead of trying to learn the rich past of the hill stations.”

The locals of this hill town are very concerned about the upkeep of the place. One hardly comes across anyone from the town littering the place.

The locals stick to the discipline of using dustbins. Whatever littering is visible can largely be attributed to the ‘ugly tourist’ out to destroy the pristine locations in the hills.