Water shortage in Solan as lifting from Ashwani khud suspended

Ambika Sharma

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Solan, August 17

The Jal Shakti Department has halted lifting of water from the Ashwani khud fearing bacterial contamination.

This has resulted in a shortage of water in the Solan Municipal Corporation area. Water shortage was already plaguing the city with issues like silting and leakage in pipes hampering adequate water supply. The suspension of watet lifting from one of the two projects has worsened the situation.

The city gets water from the Giri and Ashwani projects. Local residents mainly get supply from the Giri scheme, which supplies about 60 lakh to 65 lakh litres per day, while the Ashwani Khud project supplies 25 lakh to 30 lakh litres of water.

Jal Shakti Department officials took water samples from the Ashwani khud and sent them for analysis to its lab at Kandaghat as well as a specialised lab at Chandigarh. Water lifting would resume if the lab reports were negative for contamination.

Sumit Sood, Executive Engineer, Jal Shakti Department, said, “Lifting of water from the Ashwani khud was suspended three days ago as a precautionary measure as chances of bacterial contamination following damage to a slaughter house, which lies above the khud in Shimla, were high.”

A slaughterhouse was buried under debris in a major landslide at Krishnanagar locality of Shimla on Tuesday evening. Since contaminated blood is stored in the slaughter house, its spillage into the water source lying below could contaminate the water and lead to bacterial disease in the consumers.

“The first water samples tested at the department’s lab at Kandaghat have shown no bacterial contamination. The report of the Chandigarh-based lab is likely to be received by tomorrow,” added Sood.

The supply of water has been hit in the city with merely 60,000 lakh litres being supplied as against the demand of 90 lakh litres yesterday.

“The Jal Shakti Department has supplied 49 lakh litres to 69 lakh litres of water to the Municipal Corporation in the past three days after lifting was suspended from the Ashwani khud,” said Zaffar Iqbal, Commissioner, Solan Municipal Corporation.

Samples sent for lab analysis

• Jal Shakti Department officials took water samples from the Ashwani khud and sent them for analysis to laboratories at Kandaghat and Chandigarh
• Water lifting will resume if the lab reports are negative for contamination