162-year-old Nainital house gutted, blaze kills 82-yr-old

Dehradun: A 162-year-old colonial-era wooden house in Nainital, known locally as Old London House, was destroyed in a fire, killing 82-year-old Shanta Bisht, who had lived there most of her life, police said Thursday.

The blaze, which broke out around 9.45pm Wednesday during welding repairs, is suspected to have been triggered by an electrical short circuit. Bisht's son Nikhil, a Mumbai-based film art director, was rescued by neighbours, but his mother, trapped inside, could not be reached in time. Authorities have launched a magisterial inquiry into the incident.Built in 1863, the house was among the few surviving timber structures from when Nainital served as the summer capital of the United Provinces.

Though unlisted as heritage, it was valued for its architectural provenance and continuity as a residence. Constructed of deodar and pine, it stood above Mallital market, maintained over generations with minor modifications.Historian and environmentalist Ajay Rawat, Shanta's brother, stood amid the ruins. "We never treated it as a monument. It was our home. It was also a record of the way this town used to be," he said, blaming delays caused by narrow hill roads and parked vehicles.Over 40 personnel, and teams from the Army and IAF battled the blaze for four hours before it was contained. By then, the structure was gutted.