What will they drink, where will they park?
: Tourists have already started flocking to Shimla, one of the coolest hilly ‘hot spots’ in the country with hotel occupancy in the last one week shooting up by 5% to 10% despite a severe water crisis.
Water supply, which has dipped drastically over the last 13 days, is now being rationed by the municipal corporation (MC) and supplied once in three days. Some localities, however, are facing severe shortage and going without water five days a week. The town requires 45 MLD of water daily and is gettingonly 29 to 33 million litres (MLD) a day.
“The MC has pressed water tankers into service,” says corporation commissioner Rohit Jamwal. Hoteliers have engaged private water tankers. “There is a dire need to regulate the water supply in town, otherwise we will all suffer and be forced to engage private tankers,” says Harman Kukreja, president, Shimla Hotel and Restaurateurs Association Despite the problem the tourism department is gearing up for the crowds. “We will keep tabs on hotels so that the tourists are not overcharged for the rooms,” says Shimla district tourism officer Shushil Justa.
The tourism information centre will remain open from 10 am to 7 pm (instead of 5 pm) for tourists to register complaints, he adds.
Parking, always a problem, is likely to get messier too as the town, which can just accommodate 2,600 vehicles is already clogged with around 14,000 registered vehicles, including those from the surrounding areas. “This time we have deputed a gazetted officer just to regulate the traffic and parking problems,” says superintendent of police Omapati Jamwal .
Deputy commissioner Amit Kashyap has already convened a meeting with officers directing them to ensure that tourists don’t face much inconvenience.