DEHRADUN: Dehradun’s iconic Clock Tower, the Ghanta Ghar, has stopped ticking and chiming, and with it, the pulse of the city seemed to have faltered. No one knows when, but unidentified thieves crept up the towering structure, dismantling the copper innards that once powered the six faces of this 70-year-old monument.
Built in the 1940s and inaugurated by Sarojini Naidu in 1953, Ghanta Ghar is more than just a timekeeper-it’s the city’s pride, its heartbeat.The city is wondering: how could the thieves have done it?
On Monday, the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) received complaints that the clocks had gone silent, their hands stuck in place and chiming muted. An inspection quickly revealed the truth: the thieves had cut through the wiring and tampered with the clock’s satellite-powered mechanism, a modern update to the mechanical marvel manufactured in Switzerland, renowned for crafting luxurious and precise timepieces.
This is the third time the tower has faced such an attack in recent years. Police, for now, are on standby, waiting for a formal complaint to start their investigation. “We learned about it from media reports,” said Chandrabhan Adhikari, SHO of Kotwali police station. “We will review CCTV footage once the necessary complaint is lodged.”
For those who grew up with the chimes of Ghanta Ghar marking the hours, this theft is more than just vandalism. Commissioned by Lala Sher Singh in memory of his father, Lala Balbir Singh, the Clock Tower is a rare hexagonal structure with six Swiss clocks. It isn’t just another piece of colonial architecture; it’s a monument etched with the names of freedom fighters, a symbol of Dehradun’s role in India’s march to Independence. For 70 years, it stood tall at the city’s busiest intersection.
(With inputs from Kalyan Das)
#Dehraduns #Clock #Tower #inaugurated #Sarojini #Naidu #silenced #mysterious #theft #Dehradun #News #Times #India
