Dharamsala region faces drinking water crisis due to lack of rain

No rain for the past more than two months and long dry spell may affect the drinking water supply in Dharamsala. Sources in the Jal Shakti Department said that in case it does not rain in the next one week or so the residents of Dharamsala might have to face cut in drinking water supply. The sources also said that the problem is likely to become acute in the coming months due to lesser snow in Dhauladhar mountain ranges.

Drinking water for Dharamsala city is sourced from Bhated and Gajj rivers flowing from Dhauladhar mountain ranges. The sources said that water discharge in Bhated river has reduced to about half but Gajj river still has enough water to sustain supply to Dharamsala city.

About 90 lakh litres water is being supplied in Dharamsala city daily. A majority of the drinking water schemes in the city are gravity based and are sourced from the said rivers.

The Jal Shakti Department sources said till now the situation of water supply in the city was normal. The department officials, however, expressed apprehension that if it does not rain soon, there is every possibility of the situation becoming serious and the department might have to impose water rationing.

The residents of Dharamsala are saying that they had not experienced such a long dry spell in their life time in the region.

There are 700 water supply schemes in Kangra district and 843 schemes in Chamba district that are sourced from surface water. About 350 out of them are based on spring water and are facing reduction in discharge at sources. Change in climate and uneven patterns of rains was posing a challenge to the Jal Shakti Department with regard to management water supply schemes.

In hill areas most of the scheme are designed by the Jal Shakti Department from surface water sources as rivers and stream. Due to the changing rain patterns, the experts have been suggesting that the department should rely on small check dams on rivers and streams as source for drinking water schemes. The old designs of directly sourcing water from natural rivers and streams was facing challenges due to lesser snow in higher reaches of mountains and changing rain patterns.