Shimla water crisis: Residents ask tourists to stay away
Shimla, the most visited hill station in India, is in the midst of a predicament that is soon set to engulf many of the world's major cities, including Bengaluru. For over a week now, the capital of Himachal Pradesh has been in the throes of an acute water shortage, so much so that residents have now pleaded tourists to stay away. Here's more.
The situation in Shimla is still deteriorating
The appeal was sent out by residents and environmentalists through social media channels, after the otherwise-peaceful town of Shimla saw clashes between residents and police over increasingly stretched water supplies. Meanwhile the situation is still deteriorating with time. On Tuesday, Shimla got just 18 million litres of water as opposed to the required 45 million litres, even less than what it got on Monday.
Shimla's concerns to worsen during tourist season
It is the peak tourist season in Shimla, and the hill station sees an estimated 15,000-20,000 tourist visits everyday, while tourist arrivals on weekends reach 30,000. The burden is likely to get even worse with the Shimla Summer Festival set to begin from June 1. Additionally, the start of the Chandigarh-Shimla helicopter taxi service is expected to put additional pressure on Shimla's already-depleted water resources.
Tourists might be reconsidering, owing to the water crisis
However, tourists might also be deterred owing to the water crisis. "We had already booked a hotel for our stay in June, but I'm not so sure now. I'm especially concerned because we were planning to travel with my eight-month-old daughter," said one Abhinav Gupta.
Himachal Pradesh HC steps in to handle water crisis
To try and tackle the crisis, the Himachal Pradesh High Court, on Tuesday, directed the Municipal Commissioner to cease all supplies of water through tankers to individuals, especially in VIP areas housing judges, ministers, MLAs, bureaucrats, police officers, or commercial establishments. The High Court also suspended all construction and car washing activities within the Shimla planning area for a week.
Entire Himachal Pradesh facing water crisis, warns environmentalist group
Meanwhile, environmentalists have warned that it's not just Shimla, but the entirety of Himachal Pradesh that faces a massive water crisis. One such group, Himdhara, a state-based environment research and action collective, attributed the looming crisis to the upcoming hydropower projects in the state. Additionally, Himdhara said Shimla, in the face of rapid urbanization, industrialization, mining etc., needed urgent action to prevent environmental catastrophe.
