BJP threatens to hold protest over Solan’s water woes

Solan, June 19

The BJP today threatened to launch an agitation in Solan town if the issue of water shortage was not resolved within a week. A delegation of BJP councillors comprising Mayor Meera Anand and councillors Shailendra Gupta, Rajni and Rekha met the Deputy Commissioner and apprised him of the affairs.

Talking to the media, Shailendra Gupta said, “Solan town is bearing the brunt of internal bickering of the Congress councillors. The key issues plaguing the town like shortage of water have failed to get the due importance.”

“A Rs 103-crore Giri potable water scheme, which would have provided water to Kasauli and surrounding areas could not be completed despite it being a Centrally funded project. The scheme was supposed to be commissioned in June 2023 and it would have resolved the water woes of the area,” said Gupta.

The former BJP government had spent Rs 14 crore on the scheme to ensure smooth supply of water to the town, but all such works have come to a standstill under the Congress regime, Gupta added.

Gupta said for the past one month, people were grappling with water shortage. He said the local MLA and Cabinet Minister DR Shandil had failed to find a permanent solution to the water woes of Solan. “Shandil was instead focusing on settling scores with a section of councillors — two of whom have been disqualified for voting against the official Mayoral candidate in the mid-term polls of MC held last year,” Gupta claimed.

The BJP councillors alleged that the minister has not convened even one meeting on the water crisis either before the season or during the peak summer.