Water crisis eases in Shimla

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 4

The water crisis eased in the city as the Shimla MC received 37 MLD of water on Monday.

Member secretary, the Himachal Pradesh Legal Service Authority (HPLSA), Prem Pal Ranta, who has been monitoring the four control rooms round the clock, said the water availability was about 37 MLD which was satisfactory, though the city needed about 45 MLD.

“The control rooms did not receive any complaint. No tanker supplied water till this afternoon. But water distribution will go on sector-wise as directed by the High Court”, he added. The demand for water has come down due to a decrease in tourist arrivals too.

The HPLSA directed the SMC to remove big pipes of two hotels on The Ridge which suck a large amount of water from the main line.

The SMC had snapped the water supply of 18 defaulter hoteliers, while13 still await edthe same fate, said sources. The SMC had taken action on the directions of the High Court, which is monitoring the water supply to the city.

Two teams comprising legal experts and inspectors of the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation on Monday inspected water connections of 19 hotels in Kali Bari, but none of the connections was from the main line. The team found that two hoteliers on Jhakhu Road were getting water through large pipes, which were ordered to be removed, sources said.