Dehradun Diary

Connaught Place in Doon stares at sunset
Dehradun’s Connaught Place market will be reduced to the pages of history in a few days. Constructed during the British rule, the market will be vacated and demolished from September 14. The building which is known in this name here was constructed by Seth Mansaram in 1930, a well-to-do banker from Dehradun. Named after Connaught Place in Delhi, Mansaram had brought in architects from Bombay for his building which would host people from Pakistan here on business. In an anti-climax, Mansaram soon went bankrupt after the building was completed. Built in the 40s, the historic stretch once had over 150 buildings.

Jubin’s heart beats for the country, says dad
Amid the vicious hashtag campaign calling for the arrest of Jubin Nautiyal over his alleged links with a banned US-based Khalistani outfit, his dad came out and said that the songster’s heart beats for the country. “Like music, Jubin Nautiyal’s heart beats for the country and the soil of the country. Naturally, everyone needs money, but it is not possible to go to such a low level to earn money, Jubin cannot harm millions of his fans and followers at all,” he said. Ram Sharan Nautiyal is a seasoned politician. While he is relieved with that the controversial show in early August, the trolling on social media eventually began on September 9.

Something big hidden in Trivendra’s smirk
Former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who met PM Narendra Modi two days ago is constantly smirking. His smiling is not unnecessary, but this time Trivendra’s digestive power looks too strong to digest things. He is not ready to say anything in front of the media. It is certain that Trivendra is going to get some ‘sanjeevani’ in the near future from the party, in which some assurance can be given about the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Trivendra, who was CM for four years, was summoned to Delhi in between the Gairsain assembly session and the reins were handed over to Garhwal MP Tirath Singh Rawat, after his short stay at Pushkar Singh Dhami’s residence.

Narendra sethi
Our correspondent in Uttarakhand
narendrasethi@newindianexpress.com