The Clock Tower, or Ghanta Ghar, is Dehradun’s most recognisable landmark and the point most locals use as “zero” for giving directions. Standing at the intersection of several busy roads and surrounded by shops, banks and eateries, the hexagonal tower rises above the city centre with clocks on all six faces. In the evenings, the area is filled with rickshaws, street-food vendors and shoppers heading towards Paltan Bazaar. The tower is often lit up for national holidays and festivals, so for tourists it becomes the natural backdrop for photos that say “I was in Dehradun.”
About this place
History & highlights
The tower was commissioned in memory of Lala Balbir Singh, a prominent local resident, by his son Lala Sher Singh. The foundation stone was laid on 24 July 1948 by Sarojini Naidu, then Governor of Uttar Pradesh, and the structure was completed and inaugurated around 1953, when Lal Bahadur Shastri was Railway Minister.
Its six faces symbolically carry names of freedom fighters, underlining Dehradun’s role in the independence era. Over the years, the original Swiss-made clocks were replaced and the structure has undergone several renovations, most recently under the Dehradun Smart City project, which repaired the masonry and lighting but has struggled to keep the clock mechanisms working perfectly.
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