Don't come to Shimla, residents tell

tourists as Himachal capital suffers

worst water crisis in decades

DNA Web
Team
Updated: May 30,
2018, 06:13 PM
IST

Once the Summer Capital of British India, the picturesque Shimla is reeling under
worst water crisis the hill town has ever seen.

People lining on streets for water tankers has become a common sight. As the
Himachal capital grapples with the acute water shortage, residents and
environmentalists are now urging the tourists to stay away from Shimla.

At the time of inception, the hill town was designed for just around 20,000 people.
Over the decades, the town witnessed exponential population growth. At present, the
current population of Shimla is over 2 lakh, a Times of India report said.
The situation worsens every year with around 20,000 tourists visiting Shimla during
peak season. To check this dangerous trend, the residents are now urging tourists to
stay away from the hill town.

‘A plea to everyone who loves mountains, it’s about time all of you stop visiting
Shimla for a while. The city is facing acute water shortage, because of increase
tourism, bad water management and bad winters earlier this year. The residents are
barley getting water to drink, and at a few places, sewage water is being supplied to
the houses. And it will only get worse as the tourists throng the place in large numbers
during June, and it will make life really difficult for the locals…so don’t travel to
Shimla for a while and help the mountains recover their water levels,’ said one such
appeal by a Shimla resident on social media.

Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Wednesday directed the Shimla
Municipal Corporation not to distribute water through tankers.

The court also directed the state government and the Shimla Municipal Corporation to
not allow any water supply for building construction and car washing.

The court has taken a suo moto cognizance in the matter due to extreme water scarcity
in the town and has given order taking the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which is
pending with the High Court for past two years.

The Shimla administration has also postponed a major tourist attraction, International
Shimla Summer Festival, scheduled from June 1 to 5 due to the scarcity of water in
the town.