British Mall Road set for European facelift now

From being a British only street to the most sought after tourist destination,Shimlas Mall Road has never lost its charm.

From being a British only street to the most sought after tourist destination,Shimlas Mall Road has never lost its charm. It is now set for a facelift with state tourism department planning to replace the asphalt road surface with European corbelling stone pattern.

The plan has been approved by the the tourism department under a Rs 428-crore Asian Development (ADB) fund project to improve tourism related infrastructure in the state. The proposed re-laying of the busy Mall Road will give it a visually appealing look,while adding 18 new set of amenities.

Arun Sharma,director (Tourism),who is also the mission director,ADB project,said: The project of restoration of the Mall road,conservation and rehabilitation of the Town Hall and Rani Jhansi Park will cost Rs 19 crore. Once done,it will make Shimla one of the best cities in the South-East Asia.

The proposed intervention of the tourism department for the delineated project area has never witnessed a major change due to lack of funds,resulting in the fragmentation of the Mall Roads image with lot of visual distractions.

However,the new project for the Mall Road,where the vehicular restrictions are still in force,would see landscaping,improvement of retaining walls,new railings,gateways,signages and fixing of new street furniture,including rain shelters and rest-benches.

We have finalised the designs and plans to retrieve and reinstate the space in front of the buildings. Shops,showrooms,porches,arcades and canopies will also be changed, Sharma added.

The restoration work on heritage Town Hall building,currently housing Shimla Municipal Corporation,will also begin soon.

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