Shimla, June 6 (IANS) Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar who reached Himachal Pradesh on Friday, will be staying at the British-era Raj Bhavan in the state capital Shimla where the historic Simla agreement between India and Pakistan was inked after the 1971 War on July 2, 1972.

The elegant building was the residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab during British rule, with Sir Louis Dane being its first occupant.

During his visit, Vice-President Dhankhar is scheduled to visit Solan town, some 60 km from here, on Saturday.

Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu extended a warm welcome to the Vice-President at the Annandale helipad.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, who has been designated as the Minister-in-Waiting for the Vice-President’s visit, were present on the occasion.

Lieutenant General Devender Sharma, GOC-in-C, ARTRAC, Mayor Surender Chauhan, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, Director General of Police Ashok Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap, Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh, besides senior officials of the state government were also present to welcome the Vice-President.

On behalf of the people of Himachal Pradesh, the Governor honoured Dhankhar by presenting him a traditional Himachali cap, a shawl and a memento.

Shimla, which served as the summer capital of British India between 1864 and 1939, currently has nearly 90 British-era heritage buildings, but most are in bad shape.

Still, there are some honourable exceptions like the Ellerslie, housing the state secretariat; the Vidhan Sabha; the Town Hall; the United Services Club; Barnes’ Court, which is the Raj Bhavan now and the Viceregal Lodge.

Now, one can visit the Barnes’ Court on weekends as Governor Shukla in August 2023 formally dedicated the Raj Bhavan to the public. It will now be open for visitors from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on every Saturday and Sunday.

The Governor at the time of opening it for the public said that Barnes’ Court is a heritage building of the British-era constructed in 1832 and Indian skilled craftsmen had made an important contribution to its construction.

Barnes’ Court has a special importance as it has been witness to many historical events.

Author E.J. Buck wrote in his book ‘Simla Past and Present’ that Barnes’ Court is partly a single and partly a double-storey building. It has been built in a way that it has good views on three sides — the west, south and east. The front portion of the house is raised on a masonry terrace and there is a level lawn to the west between the house and a hill.

–IANS

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