Viceregal Lodge’s 132-year-old kitchen wing to be restored

SHIMLA: The 132-year-old kitchen wing of the Viceregal Lodge, which was once the summer residence of the British, will be restored for the first time in as many years.

The Union government has sanctioned ₹12 crore for restoring the kitchen wing of British Era building. Human resource minister Ramesh Pokhriyal on Thursday virtually laid the foundation for stone for the restoration of the historic building .

The ministry has also approved ₹65 crore for the renovation and restoration of the building that over the years has borne the brunt of the vagaries of weather and time.

The building, which is now the

Rashtrapati Niwas (President’s residence), and also houses the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, is famous for hosting the historic failed ‘Simla Conference’, a meeting between the Viceroy of India Lord Wavell and prominent political leaders of Indian Muslim league and Indian National Congress.

Institute director Makarand Paranjape said, “Except for small repairs no major restoration work has been undertaken in the building. The cobbled stones in the building have become delaminated due to weathering .”

ICE-CREAM MACHINE, REFRIGERATORS TO BE REPAIRED

“The British-era refrigerators and an ice-cream machine will be repaired and put for display of the visitors, he said”

The wing is in a bad shape due to long disuse. “The five-storey kitchen wing is unsafe as water drips from the roof and walls have deteriorated due to dampness. The tiles are also broken. There is trolley installed in the kitchen to ferry food to the top story,” he said.