Dehradun: Mussoorie, the ‘Queen of Hills’, nestled amidst tall deodar trees and picturesque views of the far-reaching Himalayas, attracts millions of tourists every year. The center of attraction for these tourists has always been the historic Mall Road here, which was also very fond of the country’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. This is the place where the hustle and bustle of history and modernity meet together, but now a big change is about to come in this identity.
Mall Road was once a shopping hub and promenade for the British.
The history of Mall Road of Mussoorie is linked to the British rule of the 18th and 19th centuries. When British officers flocked to these cool hill stations to seek respite from the scorching heat of India, they developed these ‘Mall Roads’ to maintain their European lifestyle. Be it Nainital, Shimla, Darjeeling or Mussoorie, everywhere Mall Road was not only a place for walking, but it was also the main center of shopping, social interaction and cultural activities.
Mall Roads are considered to be the foundation of the mall culture of that era, when there were not many high-end shops, and where walking around was considered a status symbol, then they developed. After this, with time, this road became open to every common tourist and street vendors also made their place here, who gave this road the form of a lively market by selling local products, street food and souvenirs. Today, in the villages around Mussoorie, the villagers shop for handmade items like wooden crafts, woolen clothes and also buy food items from here.
Journey of Mall Road from British period to present
In the 18th and 19th centuries, when the British rule ruled India, the British used to go to hill stations to spend their summer holidays. At that time he had developed mall roads at hill stations. Mall roads were established at hill stations like Nainital, Mussoorie, Shimla and Darjeeling, where the British used to go for strolling and shopping. This is linked to mall culture. In today’s time, you go to the mall for hanging out and shopping with friends and in hill stations you used to go to the mall for shopping and hanging out with friends.
Mall Road of Mussoorie is a place attracting tourists where people roam on foot or in rickshaws to buy local products and taste them, but now this Mall Road will become completely vending free i.e. street vendors will be removed from here. Traders are opposing this but the same Mussoorie Municipality says that due to the large number of tourists coming here, the situation of congestion persists and the availability of ready and track leads to more congestion, hence the vending zone will be built at another place.
Mall Road was made for shopping, but now you will not get the same here because the vendors will be shifted to other 5 new vending zones, which they are opposing because tourists mostly shop on Mall Road. Mall Road was used for shopping during the British rule, now there will be no street vendors here.
Street traders unhappy with the administration’s decision
SDM Rahul Anand said that it is usually seen that a large number of tourists reach Mussoorie on New Year, due to which there is a problem of overcrowding here. To ensure that the traffic flows smoothly and the local people do not face any problem along with the tourists, preparations are being made to create 5 new vending zones in Mussoorie, in which spots including Landour Marg, Company Garden, Picture Palace-Upper Mall Road, Mussoorie Lake have been marked. Along with this, verification of vendors has been done through survey in which 227 vendors have been found to be genuine. By transferring them to the identified vending zones, the Mall Road will be made completely vendor free.
On the other hand, vendors are opposing this decision because they say that where there are tourists, there will be business. Ram Kishan says that we have been working for years and tourists come here every year. We earn some money only during the season and on weekends, but what will we do if we are taken to a place where footfall happens.
He said that we will raise our problems in the second meeting with the administration and hope that the administration will take an appropriate decision for us. Jitendra Singh says that why so much strictness is imposed only on small traders. We get a little income only on Christmas and New Year, but we have to face so much trouble during the monsoon and off-season. Now even on these days, if we go away from the main center of Mussoorie, the tourists will just turn around and go away empty handed, they will be deprived of the local taste and local products.
