Nainital has lately been much in news. A sudden spell of heavy rain caused its greatest attraction, the Naini lake, to overflow and nearly destroyed the town created by the British along what was once a pristine lake. The story of Nainital’s present erosion as a pristine town by a lake is a tale of human selfishness and greed.In 1842, the then Commissioner Mr Lushington and his friend, one Mr Barron (owner of the Rosa brewery of Shahjehanpur), had a contractor named Lala Motiram Shah of Almora build a dozen bungalows for British officials in a valley occupied on all sides (except the east) by mountains. As soon as they were advertised, they were occupied.In another three years, a bamboo jungle was cut to create the Mallital bazaar for native servants, cooks and ayahs serving the sahibs. The first church came up in 1846.
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