Summer pangs: Villages around Kasauli without water for days

Ambika Sharma

Solan, May 6

Even as the summer is yet to fully set in, several villages around the popular tourist town Kasauli in Himachal’s Solan have already started facing a potable water crisis. The authorities have been blaming the sparse winter rain, which has resulted in an alarming decline in the discharge from natural sources.

25,000 affected as 15 schemes drying up

• Tap supply being received after four days instead of the routine alternate day arrangement
• Nearly 15 schemes have started drying up and 25,000 residents have been affected
• The affected areas include Kasauli, Parwanoo, Dharampur, Jabli, Koti, Garkhal and Taksal

As the Jal Shakti Department has been forced to take up water rationing, about 25,000 residents have been hit. The tap water supply is now being released after three to four days instead of the earlier arrangement of alternate days.

Jal Shakti Department Sub-Divisional Officer (Dharampur) Bhanu said the local supply schemes had been affected as hardly any rain was received over the past six-seven months. “Nearly 15 schemes have started drying up. The water discharge has fallen by 50 to 60 per cent in areas around Kasauli and Parwanoo, including Dharampur, Jabli, Koti, Garkhal and Taksal. The little rain that was received in April helped rejuvenate the natural sources a bit and the supply is expected to last till May-end,” the Sub-Divisional Officer said.

Bhanu said 7.2 lakh litres of water used to be lifted daily from a scheme in Dharampur, but the discharge had declined to 2 lakh litres.

The residents of several villages have started buying water through tankers despite its quality being a cause for concern. More than 550 cases of diarrhoea, a water-borne ailment, have already surfaced in Parwanoo.

There have been reports of tanker suppliers lifting water from ‘nullahs’ and ‘khuds’, which are a potential source of contamination due to the lack of any mechanism to check the quality of water. The delay in commissioning the Rs 102 crore Giri potable water scheme, meant to augment supply to Kasauli and its suburbs, has aggravated the crisis.

Funded jointly by Jal Jiwan Mission (Rs 56 crore) and the National Bank for Agriculture Development (Rs 46 crore), the project’s tender was awarded in August 2021 and the scheme was to be completed by July 2023.