India's most beautiful hill station Shimla is struggling to survive. Visitors over the years have mauled the hills under the wheels of the SUVs and contaminated air and water by polluting the air. Every year, tourists from across India keep this place on top of their 'must visit' places. They throng the serene spots in the beautiful hill station in Himachal Pradesh. But the future looks grim. In fact, the present already is irreparable. As you read this, there is an ongoing water crisis in Shimla. Both locals, as well as tourists, are struggling to get hold of the most important thing for life. The authorities seem to have no clue about handling the situation. And it all appears as a lost paradise.?
Who is responsible for this?
There are a variety of reasons that have left Shimla in this?condition. Innumerable visitors every year, tonnes of plastic and untreated waste, unchecked construction, pollution by vehicles, and so on. Everything has contributed to the disaster that the hill is experiencing now. The current situation demands an immediate solution for the water crisis. People don't have water for several days. They are queuing up to get the necessary volume of water required by them. Tourists are cancelling their bookings, those who are already there have the worst outing of their lives.??
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Here are some key reasons why Shimla is witnessing the?acute shortage of water.
As the scorching heat begins in the plains, people go to the hills for a few days to relax. Tourists, from close places including Delhi and Chandigarh throng Shimla, and raise the demand of essential things, water being most important. The population of the city is around 1.72 lakhs, but with tourist season at its peak, the population of the city swells by 90 thousand to one lakh which puts pressure on the civic infrastructure of the city including the requirement of water. The tourists staying in hotels use the resources carelessly, hence end up consuming all the available things.?
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PTI
Shimla city gets its water supply from five major resources- Gumma, Giri Ashiwini Khad, Churat and Seog. The upper capacity of the city to hold and clean water is? 65 million litres per da (MLD)? is 65 MLD? while the demand is approximately 45 MLD and the average amount of water the city receives throughout the year is 35 MLD which becomes a grave concern during the tourist season.
Ashiwini Khad is one of the major supply sources of water to the residents of Shimla, but in 2005, a sewage treatment plant (STP) was constructed in Malyana, just 5 km?from?upstream. Since then there are periodic breakouts of hepatitis.
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The source would compensate for one-third of the city demand, but later its near closure can¡¯t be compensated by Giri-another source nearby despite an increase in the capacity. At present Khad gives only 2-3 MLD? and if the city bodies try to get more than this, the risk of hepatitis breakout gets real.
PTI
The Irrigation and Public Health Department?have stopped looking after over 50 sources in and around the city as the department was obligated to supply water to these areas. But after it stopped taking out water from these resources leading to their contamination, it became Municipal Body¡¯s obligation to supply water to the area which was under Irrigation department which further put pressure on the stretched infrastructure.
Like all other places, climate change is also giving Shimla a tough time. The winters don¡¯t see much rain, in summer it does, better inadequate, not enough to fill the natural reserves which have gone 50 percent below the normal.?
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Then the human intervention which always takes the?toll on nature¡¯s own way of rejuvenation further making it tough. The city which used to be a small town with 30,000 people has now nearly 1.72 lakh people. While the city mushroomed in numbers, the infrastructure was laid by keeping this in mind.?
The tourists also increase the miseries of the city as 40 lakh of them in a year is a bit too much for a city that can¡¯t supply 45 MLD of water to its people.?
The Kol Dam project might be a solution, but despite MoU with the World Bank for lifting water from Kol Dam, the project hasn¡¯t started. It has the capacity to provide 100 MLD daily which is almost triple of what the hill city gets now. But it will take time and until then, the city will have to adjust with whatever it has.?