Locals tell tourists to stay away as Shimla water crisis worsens

have been asked to stay away from Shimla until the hill station tides over its debilitating water crisis.

The appeal, sent out by residents and environmentalists via social media, comes amid road blockades and clashes with police in the otherwise peaceful town as its water resources are stretched to the limit. The Himachal high court has also tried to address the situation through a temporary ban on construction activities and washing of cars, besides a directive against giving special treatment to VIPs like judges, ministers, bureaucrats.

However, the situation is only getting worse with time. The town got just 18 million litres of water per day (MLD) against the demand for 45 on Tuesday, 2 MLD less than the previous day.

Incidentally, this also happens to be the town’s peak tourist season, when an estimated 20,000 visitors arrive on a daily basis. The consequent rush has put additional pressure on its depleted water resources, even forcing the state government to indefinitely postpone the Shimla Summer Festival. The event was expected to start on June 1.

One such post exhorting tourists to stay away from the celebrated Queen of the Hills this season was that of freelance travel photographer Abhinav Chandel. Those commenting on Chandel’s post also voiced their apprehension of the heli-taxi service between Chandigarh and Shimla, set to be launched on June 4, further increasing the tourist burden on the hill town.

Another Facebook post by Dikshant Chauhan, a young apple-grower from Kotkhai, advised tourists to let Shimla “breathe for a while” by keeping away this season.

Nagender Gupta, a resident of Tottu, suggested that the administration temporarily close all government institutions and offices in Shimla and ask residents to stay in their native villages until the crisis has passed.

Others alleged that the issue was not entirely caused by natural phenomena. “Leakages due to... supply through the Gumma Nautikhad Supply Scheme lead to the loss of 4 MLD out of 20 MLD every day,” Vikramaditya Singh, Congress MLA from Shimla rural wrote on Facebook. Environmentalists warned that the spectre of water scarcity looms large over the entire state.

(With agency inputs)

SHIMLA:Tourists

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