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Tribune News Service
Dehradun, september 27
Rashtrapati Ashiana was built in 1838 on the Rajpur road and it was initially a summer camp. A bungalow of the Commandant of the President’s Bodyguard was built here in 1920. It was initially used for keeping horses and remounts in summers.
It was made Rashtrapati Ashiana in 1975-76 to provide a suitable summer retreat to the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed as an alternative to Shimla.
It has now been renovated as per the advice of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) which conducted a site survey in May 2015 and suggested methods of retrofitting including provision of earthquake resistant features. Based on the advice of CBRI, retrofitting was done by providing horizontal and vertical seismic bands.
Its landscaping has been also done with new lawns, plantation of hedges, ornamental plants comprising flowering trees and shrubs to enhance aesthetics as well the greenery. The old irrigation system using canals has also been revived.
The Ashiana presently comprises of the main building, an annexe, swimming pool, upper stables and lower stables. The Ashiana is surrounded by a fruit orchard of litchi and mango trees.
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