MUSSOORIE: A large rock outside the Bhadraj temple — about 12 km from Mussoorie — that has inscriptions dating back to 1814 — is under threat of getting damaged due to neglect. According to Mussoorie-based historian Gopal Bhardwaj, the names inscribed on this rock are those of an early group of surveyors who arrived here around 1814 for the great trigonometric survey.
“The inscription on the stone says John Anthony Hodgson, JSB [initials for John Stuart Boldero] and WLG [initials for William Linnaeus Gardner] and Lady Hood – 1814. Major General John Anthony Hodgson went on to become Surveyor General of India in 1821.
This stone, which records the account of early Britishers who set foot on these hills and of Hodgson, has great historical value,” Bhardwaj said. Pilgrims who visit the Bhadraj temple are damaging this rock by scribbling or chiselling their names, said Ramesh Semwal, a village resident. He added that rain and snow are also causing weathering of the rock’s surface.
“This rock is part of the town's heritage and it must be suitably preserved by the archaeological department or the Survey of India,” said Raj Bijalwan, a resident.
RS Patel, superintending archaeologist of Archaeological Survey of India, Dehradun circle, when queried about the matter, said, “I am not aware about this rock. We will send a team to examine it.”
Incidentally, the rock is referred to as a “surveyor’s stone” and is believed to be a survey marker used for triangulation in the great trigonometric survey.
