Shimla queues up for water, in anger

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 27 

Water shortage during peak summer is nothing new for Shimla. But it’s for the first time in living memory that the Municipal Corporation has failed to supply water for almost a week,  bringing the city to a near halt. 

Owing to the water crisis, the popular Shimla-Kalka toy train was delayed on Sunday by 45 minutes. There  was not enough water for the train engine and the toilets. The train left Shimla at 4 pm only after 500 litres of water was arranged. With the BJP-controlled corporation seemingly helpless and Mayor Kusum Sardet away to China, the residents’ anger has begun to spill on to the streets. “If the government is unable to provide water to the residents, which is a basic need, it must stop promoting Shimla as a tourist destination as the tourist rush only aggravates the problem,” observed 76-year-old BD Joshi, a local. 

Reports of sewage entering the water pipes have created a scare. Two years ago, the jaundice outbreak because of contaminated water had taken an epidemic form and the Ashwani  Khud supply scheme had to be scrapped. Shimla hoteliers claim  the authorities had been forewarned by the Tourism Industry and Stakeholders Association about the impending water shortage. “We had in April written to the district administration and the MC and suggested that borewells be dug around Shimla and water hydrants be installed at Tattapani to meet the water demand,” said association president MK Seth, regretting that nothing had been done.

Former Mayor and senior CPI(M) leader Sanjay Chauhan held the corporation solely responsible for the  crisis and sough stringent action against employees responsible for it.