Century-old Mussoorie's skating rink destroyed in fire

MUSSOORIE: 'The Rink', an iconic 19th-century heritage building in Mussoorie, caught fire early on Sunday and was reduced to ashes within a few hours. The building off the busy Mall Road was under renovation. It had once housed Asia's largest wooden skating rink.

Prima facie, it seems the fire was caused due to a short circuit and investigation is ongoing, SDM Nandan Kumar said.

No one was injured but the owner who was asleep in one room had to be rescued.

"We received a call from our owner that the place had caught fire," said Manvir Bhandari, a staff member.

‘Took a few hrs to bring fire at rink under control’
H e was trapped inside a room. We reached the room from the roof and rescued him after breaking open the glass window,” Bhandari further added. Senior sub-inspector Guman Singh Negi said the blaze was so intense it took fire brigade staff, Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel and local police several hours to bring it under control.

People at the spot claimed fire brigade trucks faced difficulties in reaching the place due to vehicles parked along the road. “I have fond memories of the skating rink which was the most happening place at one time. In the evening, it used to be very crowded,” said Sanjay Aggarwal, a local resident. 'The Rink' was built in the 1890s after a dentist, Dr Miller, came to own the property reportedly in lieu of payment for a set of dentures for the original owner.

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