PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/ Nainital
Prayers were offered for those who had been killed in the catastrophic landslide on Alma Hill on September 18, 1880. To mark the tragedy’s anniversary, candles were lit at St John’s Church. Besides, a special prayer meeting was held for peace in Nainital and the world as well.
Pastor John George Munbar chaired the commemorative prayer meeting.
“The 1880 disaster can never be forgotten. It horrified the people not just of Nainital but of the entire mountain region. We pray to God that the souls of the deceased rest in peace and that we never have to face such a disaster again,” he said in his prayer.
The principal of Sherwood College, Amandeep Sandhu said that cloudbursts and mountain cracks occurring now are a matter of grave concern. He urged the people to be environmentally conscious. “The cause of disasters is environmental imbalance,” he noted.
On this occasion, students from various schools presented songs. Present at the memorial service were the principal of All Saints’ College, Ajiana Richards and the principal of St Mary’s Convent College, Manjusha.
