Shimla residents ask tourists to stay away as water crisis worsens

Tourists have been asked to stay away from Shimla until the hill station tides over its debilitating water crisis.

The appeal, sent out by residents and environmentalists through the social media, comes amid road-rokos and clashes between police and residents in the otherwise peaceful town as its water resources are stretched to the limit. The Himachal high court has also tried to address the situation through a temporary ban on construction activities and washing of cars, besides a directive against according preferential treatment to VIPs such as ministers, bureaucrats and judges.

However, the situation is only getting worse with time. The town got just 18 million litres of water per day (MLD) against the demand for 45 on Tuesday, 2 MLD less than what was received the previous day.

Incidentally, this also happens to be the town’s peak tourist season, when an estimated 20,000 visitors arrive on a daily basis. The consequent rush has put additional pressure on its depleted water resources, even forcing the state government to indefinitely postpone the Shimla Summer Festival. The event was expected to start on June 1.

One such post exhorting tourists to stay away from the celebrated Queen of the Hills this season was that of freelance travel photographer, Abhinav Chandel. Last checked, it had been shared as many as 1,500 times since it was posted on the evening of May 28.

“A plea to everyone who loves mountains – it’s about time all of you stopped visiting for a while,” Chandel wrote, adding that things will take a further turn for the worse when tourists throng the town in June.

“But if this (extreme water scarcity) can happen in a town like Shimla, it can happen anywhere in the Himalayas. Also, I don’t mean to imply that tourism should be stopped altogether. Just that the town needs 10-15 days to deal with this. I am sure things will become better once the monsoon comes,” he said.

Tourists have been asked to stay away from Shimla until the hill station tides over its debilitating water crisis.

The appeal, sent out by residents and environmentalists through the social media, comes amid road-rokos and clashes between police and residents in the otherwise peaceful town as its water resources are stretched to the limit. The Himachal high court has also tried to address the situation through a temporary ban on construction activities and washing of cars, besides a directive against according preferential treatment to VIPs such as ministers, bureaucrats and judges.

However, the situation is only getting worse with time. The town got just 18 million litres of water per day (MLD) against the demand for 45 on Tuesday, 2 MLD less than what was received the previous day.

Incidentally, this also happens to be the town’s peak tourist season, when an estimated 20,000 visitors arrive on a daily basis. The consequent rush has put additional pressure on its depleted water resources, even forcing the state government to indefinitely postpone the Shimla Summer Festival. The event was expected to start on June 1.

One such post exhorting tourists to stay away from the celebrated Queen of the Hills this season was that of freelance travel photographer, Abhinav Chandel. Last checked, it had been shared as many as 1,500 times since it was posted on the evening of May 28.

“A plea to everyone who loves mountains – it’s about time all of you stopped visiting for a while,” Chandel wrote, adding that things will take a further turn for the worse when tourists throng the town in June.

“But if this (extreme water scarcity) can happen in a town like Shimla, it can happen anywhere in the Himalayas. Also, I don’t mean to imply that tourism should be stopped altogether. Just that the town needs 10-15 days to deal with this. I am sure things will become better once the monsoon comes,” he said.

Tourists have been asked to stay away from Shimla until the hill station tides over its debilitating water crisis.

The appeal, sent out by residents and environmentalists through the social media, comes amid road-rokos and clashes between police and residents in the otherwise peaceful town as its water resources are stretched to the limit. The Himachal high court has also tried to address the situation through a temporary ban on construction activities and washing of cars, besides a directive against according preferential treatment to VIPs such as ministers, bureaucrats and judges.

However, the situation is only getting worse with time. The town got just 18 million litres of water per day (MLD) against the demand for 45 on Tuesday, 2 MLD less than what was received the previous day.

Incidentally, this also happens to be the town’s peak tourist season, when an estimated 20,000 visitors arrive on a daily basis. The consequent rush has put additional pressure on its depleted water resources, even forcing the state government to indefinitely postpone the Shimla Summer Festival. The event was expected to start on June 1.

One such post exhorting tourists to stay away from the celebrated Queen of the Hills this season was that of freelance travel photographer, Abhinav Chandel. Last checked, it had been shared as many as 1,500 times since it was posted on the evening of May 28.

“A plea to everyone who loves mountains – it’s about time all of you stopped visiting for a while,” Chandel wrote, adding that things will take a further turn for the worse when tourists throng the town in June.

“But if this (extreme water scarcity) can happen in a town like Shimla, it can happen anywhere in the Himalayas. Also, I don’t mean to imply that tourism should be stopped altogether. Just that the town needs 10-15 days to deal with this. I am sure things will become better once the monsoon comes,” he said.

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