New Delhi: Taj Hotel, which holds an important place in the country’s hotel industry, has again become the target of terrorists. However, this time it is not the Taj Hotel where terrorists had opened fire in 2008. This time Taj Hotel of Lucknow is on the target of terrorists. On Monday, this hotel in Hazratganj received a bomb threat through an email.
Whenever there is talk of a bomb in the Taj Hotel or a terrorist attack, the terrible memories of the year 2008 come alive. That year, many terrorists including Ajmal Kasab had entered the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. He created a lot of terror here for four days. More than 150 people were killed in this attack, including 9 terrorists. Ajmal Kasab, who was involved in this attack, was arrested and later hanged.
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More than 100 years old history
The history of Taj Hotel is more than 100 years old. The Taj Hotel, built on the seashore near the Gateway of India in Mumbai, was the first hotel of this chain. People from far and wide come here just to see this luxurious hotel building and stand in front of it and get photographed with pride.
The construction of this hotel was started by Jamsetji Tata in the year 1898. It took 5 years to build it. It was opened to the general public in December 1903. This was the first property of Taj Group. Also the first hotel of this group. Today they have many hotels across the country. They are operated by Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), a Tata Group company. This is a company listed in the stock market.
How was this hotel built?
There is a very interesting story behind the construction of Taj Hotel in Mumbai. It was the last years of the 1890s. At that time the country was under British rule. Once Jamsetji Tata went to Watson Hotel in Mumbai. The British stopped him from going there. Actually, this hotel was only for Europeans i.e. white people. Seeing this, Jamsetji Tata felt very bad. After this he thought that he would build a hotel in which no one would be stopped from going. Also, people from all over the world will keep looking at that hotel. However, some other reasons are also found in many places. One reason for this is that a friend of Jamsetji did not like the hotels of Mumbai. The reason given is that Jamsetji wanted to build a hotel. Lovett Fraser, Jamsetji’s friend and one of the early directors of IHCL Group, said that the idea of building a hotel was already in Jamsetji’s mind.
Do you know these interesting things related to hotels?
- It is said that at that time around Rs 5 crores were spent in building this hotel.
- During the First World War (1914–1918) the hotel was converted into a hospital to treat the wounded. For this, about 600 beds were installed in this hotel.
- At one time the daily rent for a single room in this hotel used to be Rs 10. Today its fare is Rs 20 thousand.
- The Gateway of India near this hotel was constructed after the construction of this hotel. The Gateway of India was built in 1924.
Contribution to the country’s independence
You will be surprised to know that this Taj Hotel located in Mumbai has also contributed to the independence of the country. It is said that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sardar Patel etc. used to gather in this hotel for the freedom movement.