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00:00In Uttarakhand, which is in the lap of the Himalayas,
00:02it is getting cold these days.
00:04But the atmosphere in all the cities of Uttarakhand is warm.
00:07The atmosphere is warm because elections are going to take place.
00:10In Uttarakhand, there will be elections in about 102 constituencies.
00:16About 3.1 million voters will form the government of the cities,
00:19out of which about 16 lakh male voters
00:22and about 15 lakh female voters.
00:26And out of all these constituencies,
00:28let's talk about Dehradun Nagarnigam, which is the biggest constituency with 60 wards.
00:32And the seat of Dehradun Nagarnigam is very important.
00:36About 7.5 lakh voters will vote for the Dehradun Mayor and the 100 members of parliament.
00:44How did the Dehradun Nagarnigam or the Dehradun Municipal Corporation start?
00:50How was it established?
00:51To talk about this, we have with us today Lokesh Ohri,
00:56who is a historian and has a good hold on all the heritage of Uttarakhand.
01:01Let's talk to Lokesh Ohri.
01:05Lokesh Ji, first of all, I would like to welcome you to ETV.
01:08And the way the municipal elections are going on,
01:10and if we talk about the Dehradun Municipal Corporation,
01:14this building is in front of us.
01:15I would like you to show the building.
01:17As it is written on this building as of 1937,
01:21we can say that this is an old building.
01:24Let's talk to Lokesh Ohri about this building first.
01:27Lokesh Ji, the place where we are standing right now,
01:31the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, what kind of history does it have?
01:34Look, the Dehradun Municipal Corporation is a very historical place.
01:41In 1883, the district board was established here in Dehradun.
01:45We are talking about the British period.
01:47We are talking about the British period.
01:48At that time, a district board was formed here.
01:51Was the district board different from the municipal one?
01:56Yes, the district board was formed.
01:58This is a progression of how it progressed.
02:04First of all, the district board remained.
02:06And then in 1901, the municipal council was formed.
02:10So, the district board grew a little, the city grew a little,
02:13so a municipal council was formed.
02:16And after that, gradually, we see that the municipality was formed.
02:21And when Uttarakhand was formed,
02:24after that, it became a municipal council.
02:26Sir, if we go back to the old days,
02:29the way the district board was formed in 1901,
02:33and then the municipal council was established here,
02:38what kind of process did it go through at that time?
02:41Look, Dehradun was a very small city at that time.
02:45It was not as we see it today.
02:48But, and the British rule was there at that time.
02:50So, there were some areas here,
02:52like Dalanwala and Rajpur.
02:56So, a lot of British used to live here.
02:59And there was a parade ground.
03:03And the place around it,
03:06like I will tell you that around 1890,
03:10when the Afghan kings came here,
03:12like we still talk a lot about Kabul house,
03:15so the Afghan kings came here,
03:17and then the municipal,
03:21the district council, the district board,
03:24the people living in Dalanwala complained about it.
03:28They complained that the Afghan kings,
03:32their horses are polluting the entire parade ground.
03:35And we come here in the evening and we face a lot of problems.
03:40So, Dehradun was a city where people were very alert.
03:44And the municipality of this place was a municipality at that time.
03:51So, there were a lot of rules and regulations made.
03:54Like on Dalanwala-Rajpur road,
03:56if you wanted to build a house,
03:59you could not build it in less than 2.5 acres of land.
04:02And you could not build a boundary wall.
04:05And there had to be 150 fruit trees in every plot.
04:09Only then you could build a house in this city.
04:11So, this was a necessity?
04:13Yes, it was a necessity.
04:15So, even during the time of the British,
04:19it was believed that this city should be a city of gardens,
04:25a city of rivers, a garden city.
04:29So, seeing that, the development of this city was happening at that time.
04:36But as the changes came in the time,
04:39the city has grown so much after 2000
04:44that it seems that it will never come under control again.
04:47Sir, if we talk about the modern era,
04:50if we talk about the time when Ghantaghar was established,
04:57apart from this, you are also telling a story about the ground.
05:01So, I would like to know this from you, sir.
05:03So, when Ghantaghar was built, it was known as Balbir Clock Tower.
05:09And Lala Balbir Singh donated that place.
05:14At that time, people used to donate their land.
05:18So, to mark the independence of the country,
05:24So, it was built after independence?
05:26Yes, it was built after independence.
05:28And Sarojini Naidu, who was the governor of the United Provinces at that time,
05:35he had laid the foundation for this.
05:37Sarojini Naidu?
05:39And Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was the Prime Minister of the country,
05:43he came and inaugurated it.
05:45So, it is dedicated to independence.
05:48It is a monument built in support of independence.
05:54And the parade ground has always been the center of Dehradun.
05:58It is called the parade ground.
06:00When the British came here in 1815,
06:02they set up their camp in the parade ground first.
06:06And the parade ground was a place where people used to meet.
06:10Like, all the British from Dalanwala used to come to the parade ground in the evening.
06:14They used to come for a walk.
06:16There was a dangal and football there.
06:19And there were fairs and circuses.
06:22So, it was a place where the whole city used to gather.
06:26We can say that it was the center of the city.
06:29Absolutely.
06:30Sir, if we talk about the demography at that time,
06:35in the early days, what kind of people used to live here?
06:38Which people came here first?
06:40Because today we have become very versatile,
06:43a lot of things have been mixed.
06:45So, what was it like in the early days?
06:47So, in the early days, when the British came here,
06:52they won this whole area with the help of the Gorkha forces.
06:58So, their aim was that we don't have to go to the mountains.
07:02We can't fight in the mountains.
07:04We can't take over the mountains.
07:06So, most of the mountains where they fought the Gorkhas,
07:09they returned the area to the king.
07:14But when the British came to Dehradun valley,
07:17they liked this valley so much
07:19that they said that we will keep it with us.
07:23So, this area was separated from the Tehri Raj.
07:27And it was kept in British Garhwal.
07:30So, the British lived here.
07:32Their view was that Dehradun Masuri should be for the retired people.
07:38Or the people who were injured in the wars,
07:42or the people who fell ill,
07:44they used to live here.
07:46It was a healing city.
07:48Yes, it was a healing city.
07:50And its character was such that
07:52it was called the city of green hedges and grey hair.
07:56It means people with grey hair, old people like me.
08:00And the green hedges,
08:02there were no walls here,
08:04there were no boundary walls.
08:06There were only green hedges.
08:08Hedges planted from trees.
08:10So, it was the same city.
08:12Sir, if we talk about freedom,
08:16things changed after independence.
08:18People got the freedom to live,
08:20and the freedom to buy land.
08:22After that, everyone tried to live in comfort.
08:26So, Dehradun is the most profitable city in Dhundh Ghati.
08:30So, how have things changed after independence?
08:35Before 2000.
08:37Yes, after independence,
08:39till 2000, a lot of things remained the same.
08:41Yes, one incident happened here.
08:45I mean, many times in the history of a city,
08:47there are things that change its character.
08:51Like, after independence,
08:53when ONGC came here,
08:55the character of the city changed a little.
08:57But, because there was a cantonment here,
08:59there was a very large military presence,
09:01there were many institutions,
09:03like Survey of India,
09:05Forest Research Institute,
09:07Indian Military Academy.
09:09So, because of these institutions,
09:11it remained a cosmopolitan city.
09:13I mean, people came from all over the country to live here.
09:17But, mostly the same people lived here,
09:19the retired people,
09:21or those who were on big posts,
09:23those people could live here.
09:25So, till Uttarakhand was formed,
09:27it remained the same character.
09:29But, after that,
09:32there was a lot of change.
09:34Now, sir, I am asking you
09:36in the context of our municipality,
09:38that how did it upgrade
09:40before the independence of the country?
09:42What was the municipal commission like?
09:44How was it?
09:46And, what changes came after that?
09:48Yes, so,
09:50after about 1913,
09:52the chairman
09:54started getting elected here.
09:56After 1913,
09:58the chairman of the municipal council
10:00started getting elected here.
10:02What kind of things happened before that?
10:04Before that, there was a board.
10:06The board used to meet on its own
10:08and select one person.
10:10So, if you have any information
10:12about the members of the board?
10:14Yes, there were a lot of English people
10:16in the board.
10:18But, when our municipal council
10:20was formed,
10:22Anant Narayan Tanka
10:24was the first chairman.
10:26In 1913?
10:28We see that many people,
10:30like Lala Ugrasen,
10:32who was a big boss here,
10:34or
10:36Mahant Indresh Charandas,
10:38who was the Mahant of Guru Ram Raya Darbar.
10:40So, many such people
10:42were included in that.
10:44And, they took over the chairmanship.
10:46And, gradually,
10:48this municipality was formed.
10:50So, after independence,
10:52were there any changes?
10:54Was there any upgrade
10:57in the administration?
10:59Yes, after independence,
11:01this municipality was formed.
11:03But,
11:05when Nagarnigam was formed,
11:07the mayor was elected.
11:09So,
11:11this was formed
11:13after the creation
11:15of the Uttarakhand capital.
11:21So, we can say that
11:23after 1947,
11:25our capital was formed.
11:27In 2000, our capital was formed.
11:29So, from independence,
11:31to the formation of the capital,
11:33this was the municipality.
11:35But,
11:37of course, the board grew
11:39and there was a lot of growth.
11:41But, Nagarnigam could not be formed.
11:45After the formation of the capital in 2000,
11:47was there a rapid change?
11:49Yes, there was a rapid change.
11:51Because, this became a capital.
11:54And, it was very good
11:56that it grew.
11:58I always say that
12:00if something grows,
12:02it can grow in two ways.
12:04One, it can grow organically
12:06and the other,
12:08it can grow cancerously.
12:10Just like cancer grows,
12:12that kind of growth has happened.
12:14In Dehradun, we see that kind of growth.
12:16Here,
12:18planning has been very less.
12:20And,
12:22the character of the city
12:24has changed a lot.
12:26For example,
12:28if your children ask you
12:30what does this road mean?
12:32You will say, East Canal Road.
12:34But, they will ask
12:36where is the canal?
12:38Or, is it Eucalyptus Road or Canal Road?
12:40So, we have destroyed
12:42all those things.
12:44We have finished it.
12:46And, because of that,
12:48the character of the city has changed a lot.
12:50So, now it does not look like
12:52the city where we spent our childhood.
12:54Sir, we are talking about unplanned growth.
12:56The reflection of this
12:58is that the municipality
13:00which does the work of cleaning
13:02or providing
13:04the basic facilities
13:06to the citizens
13:08and making their lives
13:10easy-going,
13:12does this reflect
13:14the unplanned growth
13:16that we are talking about?
13:19Absolutely.
13:21The responsibility of the municipality
13:23has increased a lot.
13:25But, the municipality was not able
13:27to fulfill that responsibility.
13:29In all the middle-level cities
13:31like Indore, Ahmedabad,
13:33which have grown like this,
13:35all the municipalities
13:37have created a heritage cell.
13:39They have preserved
13:41their history and green spaces.
13:43Dehradun
13:45was very successful
13:47here.
13:49There were a lot of green spaces
13:51and historical places.
13:53But, we were not able
13:55to preserve them.
13:57I think the municipality
13:59is responsible for
14:01cleaning the gutters
14:03and giving licenses to the dogs.
14:05These are the kinds of things
14:07that can be done
14:09or the construction can be done.
14:11So, the work of the municipality
14:13is limited to that.
14:16Nowadays,
14:18no one can say that
14:20we are a government body
14:22or a statutory body
14:24but we do not have money.
14:26All the corporates
14:28and government institutions
14:30should be included.
14:32Citizens should be included.
14:34Volunteers should be
14:36kept in every neighborhood
14:38and ward.
14:40They will work on their own.
14:42The other institutions
14:44should also be included.
14:46I think Dehradun
14:48has failed
14:50in this regard
14:52and that is why
14:54we are seeing this kind of growth.
14:56Sir, we are again
14:58in the middle of the election.
15:00The public's demand
15:02and wish
15:04gets a chance during the election.
15:06As a citizen
15:08of Dehradun,
15:10you understand the issues
15:12of public awareness.
15:14Do you think the public
15:16is aware of these issues
15:18or the public
15:20has not seen
15:22the old Dehradun
15:24so what do you think
15:26the public thinks?
15:28I think
15:30there is a lack of public awareness
15:32because our leaders
15:34and those who lead us
15:36also come from the public.
15:38The public does not demand
15:41and that is why
15:43they do not do such work.
15:45But I still believe
15:47that I come in contact
15:49with a lot of people every week.
15:51We do a heritage walk on Sunday
15:53and about 100 people come there.
15:55But I feel
15:57that the delivery of the city
15:59and the expectation
16:01of the public
16:03has a big gap.
16:05People want
16:07us to live in a clean environment
16:09with greenery
16:11and save our history
16:13and our canals
16:15and our parks.
16:17But the focus
16:19of the municipality
16:21is something else.
16:23The focus of the municipality
16:25is civil works.
16:27We build roads
16:29and then maintain them.
16:31I was in the Dehradun
16:33Smart City Board
16:35as an independent director
16:38and I felt
16:40that the people
16:42who protect
16:44their heritage facades
16:46and old historical buildings
16:48should be given
16:50some leeway.
16:52But when
16:54that suggestion was implemented
16:56it was implemented in such a way
16:58that if someone is building a new building
17:00and he builds a heritage facade
17:02then he can build an extra floor.
17:04In Dehradun
17:06all the commercial buildings
17:08are built with plastic
17:10and plywood
17:12and an extra floor is built.
17:14So,
17:16things change
17:18in the bureaucracy
17:20and then
17:22there is a loss.
17:24Sir,
17:26if Dehradun is elected
17:28would you like to give
17:30a best suggestion
17:32to the mayors
17:34of Dehradun
17:36so that
17:38their heritage
17:40is restored?
17:42First of all
17:44I would like to suggest
17:46that the work style
17:48should be transparent.
17:50You should talk
17:52to the people of Dehradun
17:54and not
17:56wait for the project
17:58to be implemented.
18:00Often
18:03it happens
18:05that the government
18:07builds something
18:09and then people object
18:11and then there is a fight.
18:13So, work with transparency.
18:15Secondly,
18:17our heritage
18:19and the character
18:21of this city
18:23is not just
18:25Dehradun
18:27but all the cities
18:29of the world
18:31and it is not rocket science
18:33that Dehradun is not
18:35being taken care of
18:37by us but by others.
18:39If you look at cities
18:41like Amsterdam
18:43or New York
18:45they have
18:47hundreds of square kilometers
18:49of parking lots
18:51and the roads
18:53for cars
18:55are being removed
18:57from their cities
19:00because the city is working
19:02on the model
19:04that you should have
19:06everything you need
19:08within 10 minutes
19:10from your home
19:12or office
19:14and for that
19:16you can walk
19:18or cycle
19:20and you don't have
19:22to go by car.
19:24I think
19:26Dehradun has changed
19:28because of Uttarakhand
19:30or Uttarakhand
19:32has changed Dehradun
19:34and there will be
19:36another change
19:38and for that
19:40we will have to
19:42prepare
19:44which I can't see right now.
19:46Thank you for joining us
19:48Mr. Lokesh Ohri
19:50who gave us
19:52interesting information
19:54about the historical
19:56character of the city
19:58and
20:00what should be the
20:02work of the municipality
20:04and how to communicate
20:06with the public
20:08and how
20:10the cities
20:12in the world
20:14should learn
20:16from them.
20:18I am Dheeraj Sajwan
20:20for ATV Bharat Dehradun