As HP sees driest March in 14 years, water crisis looms large in Shimla
SHIMLA: With Himachal recording its driest March in the past 14 years, water sources across low lying regions of the state have started drying up, leading to reduced water supply in the capital Shimla.
Consequently, the Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam (SJPN), the company that procures and supplies water in the city, has resorted to rationing to deal with the shortage and supplied water to Shimla and its surrounding localities after three days on Friday. “Dry weather is adversely impacting water sources, particularly smaller ones. If the condition continues to remain the same, the water level of other sources too will recede in the coming days,” said Anil Jaswal, assistant general manager of SJPNL .
“Besides that, a glitch in the transformer at Gumma water pump has also hit the water supply,” he said, adding that they have asked the electricity department to repair it at the earliest.
Gumma is the biggest water supply source catering to Shimla town at 21.5 MLD per day. However, a technical snag in the electricity transformer three weeks ago hit the lifting of water and is yet to be repaired. Shimla town is drawing 39.15 million litres of water per day against the capacity of 55 to 60 MLD.
“The government had promised daily water supply, but the summers have just started and our locality is getting water only every alternate day,” said Ritesh Keperate, a resident of Kasumpti.
“It’s due to dry weather that the water crisis has hit the town early. Many localities in town were not getting water and the worst-affected is Bhattakuffar and Kasumpti localities, which get their water from Churat . Our locality is getting water after four days,” said Narender Thakur, former councillor from the Bhattakufar ward
Hospitality industry anxious
The water shortage has also added to the anxiety of hoteliers in Shimla town, who suffered huge losses due to pandemic in the last two years. Due to this, they are being forced to buy water through tankers at exorbitant rates.
“SJPNL is selling dreams of 24x7 water supply in Shimla, but have failed miserably on ground. There is hardly 30 to 40% occupancy in hotels on average and the summer season is about to start in midApril. SJPNL is not taking the matter seriously,” says MK Seth, president of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Stakeholders Association
”The state government constituted to provide proper and regular water supply to Shimla town. However, it is coming up with the same old excuses as MC, such as non-functioning of pumps or erratic electricity supply,” said Sanjay Sood, another hotelier. Shimla faced its worst water crisis in 2019, when citizens took to the streets to protest and fights and brawls had also broken out.
SJPNL is charging Rs 600 to Rs 700 higher water tariffs from hotels in Shimla in comparison to other towns of the state and still, the hoteliers are compelled to buy water through tankers at very high rates. Recently, the urban development minister ordered SJPNL to buy new pumps and to install generators.
Dry and warm conditions are expected to continue in the state over the next 4-5 days, said Surender Paul, regional director of local meteorological office.
“The mean maximum temp is 6-7°C above normal in the state and in Shimla, it is 7°C above normal. March 2022 was the driest month in the past 14 years with a rain deficit of 95%,” he added.