Shimla losing its 'umbrella and jacket' culture: Himachal HC

Shimla Town is losing its touch and culture of walking with “umbrella and jacket” and it is being reduced to the same stage as Mussoorie, where traffic is plying on sealed roads. Therefore, Old Shimla is losing its charm, which needs to be restored. This was observed by the HP High Court while dealing with a Public Interest Litigation concerning hygiene and traffic management in Shimla.

While expanding the scope of the PIL, a division Bench comprising Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma directed the Secretary (Home) to file a report detailing the number of sealed-road passes issued, the rates charged, their purpose, and the categories of persons to whom they were issued.

Apart from this, the court also directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Shimla, to file detailed status reports in this regard.

The PIL was originally filed to highlight the dumping of garbage and unhygienic conditions on the road leading from ARTRAC to Ram Bazar, as well as the lack of proper guidelines for two-wheeler parking. Photographs submitted in court showed garbage piled behind vehicles, dismal cleanliness levels, and roads blocked by haphazard parking of both two-wheelers and four-wheelers, causing hardship to pedestrians.

The Division Bench observed that the problem was not confined to one stretch but extended to restricted zones of Mall Road, particularly from Rock Sea Hotel to Willow Bank, where vehicles were being parked overnight under the guise of “drop-off passes.”

The court also noted that the road from Shilli Chowk/Shimla Club to Chhota Shimla Chowk, designated as a sealed road, was witnessing heavy vehicular presence due to the indiscriminate issuance of passes. The matter has been listed for the next hearing on October 10.