{"id":17921,"date":"2022-07-08T14:29:42","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T08:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/?p=17921"},"modified":"2022-07-08T14:33:32","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T09:03:32","slug":"a-parched-queen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/a-parched-queen\/","title":{"rendered":"A parched \u201cQueen\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"17921\" class=\"elementor elementor-17921\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-73b13413 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"73b13413\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-16cd2b5b\" data-id=\"16cd2b5b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-400aac78 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"400aac78\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Shimla &#8211; the majestic queen of hills is reeling under immense water shortage pressure. The intensity of the situation can be imagined by the call given out by the locals to all tourists to avoid visiting the city this summer.<\/p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">According to Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited (SJPNL), the erstwhile \u00a0Summer Capital of India \u00a0is experiencing an acute water shortage, disrupting daily life routine for the locals. SJPNL reports that the company procuring and distributing water in the Shimla municipal limits has noticed a striking difference of 2-3 MLD between the demand and supply during last few days.<del><\/del><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_18120\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18120\" style=\"width: 788px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18120 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/857AC812-0A55-41A5-9FE6-769A1B1D068F-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"788\" height=\"788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/857AC812-0A55-41A5-9FE6-769A1B1D068F-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/857AC812-0A55-41A5-9FE6-769A1B1D068F-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/857AC812-0A55-41A5-9FE6-769A1B1D068F-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/857AC812-0A55-41A5-9FE6-769A1B1D068F-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/857AC812-0A55-41A5-9FE6-769A1B1D068F-450x450.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/857AC812-0A55-41A5-9FE6-769A1B1D068F.jpeg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18120\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Population growth and the widening gap between water demand and supply.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><em>\u201cThe city has been getting around 40 MLD, approximately 2-3 MLD, which is less than the town&#8217;s current requirements. Thus, there&#8217;s an utter need for the company to reschedule the water distribution, and we&#8217;re applying deductions for 20-30 minutes as and when the city needs it.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>&#8211;<strong><em>Harmesh Bhatia,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>AGM-SJPNL\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>Shimla has seven water sources, out of which there are two primary water sources- the Nauti Khad (the one with Gumma as a part) and Ashwani Khad. However, the acute shortage is because these two water sources are witnessing a significant depletion in water level. Both these water sources are tributaries and sub-tributaries of River Yamuna and River Satluj.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p>The irrigation and public health (IPH) department lifts water from the source and then transports to treatment plants. The post treatment water is supplied to the tanks from where, the Shimla Municipal Corporation supplies water to the entire town.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p><strong><em>The town&#8217;s requirement is around 45 MLD, as per recent reports by Shimla Municipal Corporation. But, the present yield is much less around \u00a032 MLD, even on typical days. Gumma Scheme and Giri have an installed capacity of 20 and 24 MLD respectively and currently pump a combination of 20 MLD, as per sources.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>Water scarcity has become a part and parcel of life for Shimla&#8217;s local population, however it is imperative to get to the root cause of the problem. <br \/>Analysing different facets of the situation, The Voices highlights \u00a0the primarily reasons behind Shimla&#8217;s acute water crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h3><strong>Tourist Upsurge:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18102\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18102\" style=\"width: 788px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18102 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/B2DEAC90-03C7-43ED-BC62-7A843A0534B5-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"788\" height=\"788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/B2DEAC90-03C7-43ED-BC62-7A843A0534B5-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/B2DEAC90-03C7-43ED-BC62-7A843A0534B5-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/B2DEAC90-03C7-43ED-BC62-7A843A0534B5-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/B2DEAC90-03C7-43ED-BC62-7A843A0534B5-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/B2DEAC90-03C7-43ED-BC62-7A843A0534B5-450x450.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/B2DEAC90-03C7-43ED-BC62-7A843A0534B5.jpeg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18102\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tourist inflow in Shimla over the years<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>No points for guessing this one. An exponential increase in the number of tourists is definitely adding fuel to the inferno. Studies show that around 15,000 to 20,000 tourists visit the Himalayan city every day during peak tourist season. In addition to the town&#8217;s resident population of 2.2 lakh, the number of tourists visiting over an average weekend is growing by 25,000-30,000 every year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p>Water tankers are arranged \u00a0for restaurants, hotels, and other tourist attractions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong><em>Local&#8217;s are leaving<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> messages<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> on social media platforms, pleading tourists to avoid the city this summer<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<h3><strong>Climate Change:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Climate plays a crucial role in the water crisis and has impacted the city&#8217;s water supply system. The rare and scanty rainfall in this season was 80 percent deficient compared to usual monsoon months. The winter months, too, had less-than-usual precipitation during the winter months, making the season dry.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><hr \/>The water sources have gone 50% below the average.<\/li>\n<li>Also, the residual water cannot be harvested because of flooding in Shimla, causing less water retention through the natural water ecosystem.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Water sources in Shimla are glacier and snow-fed, which means that the impact of climate change affects the available water quantity, leaving groundwater sources as much more critical for the city in different sources, according to a research paper published by S.Singh in <i>Water Policy<\/i>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201cWith the tourists pushing up the demand, weak monsoons are depleting the source water level. Since the town hasn&#8217;t had much rain in the past 10-15 days, there has been a decrease in water level in Ashwani Khud from 4.5 MLD to 1.5 MLD.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>&#8211;<strong><em>Rajesh Kashyap, member (Distribution)\u00a0SJPNL\u00a0.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201cThe warm conditions have expectations of continuity in the state over the next 4-5 days, making the dry season a responsible factor. The mean temperature is 7\u00b0C above the average temperature. And March 2022 was the driest month in the past 14 years, with a rain deficit of 95%, surely adding to the acute water shortage this year.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>&#8211;<strong><em>Harmesh Bhatia,\u00a0AGM-SJPNL<\/em><\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 14px; color: var(--c-contrast-800); background: var(--c-contrast-0);\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n<h3>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n<p>Recently, Shimla received funding from central government\u2019s \u00a0AMRUT project for the town\u2019s integrated development, which mainly includes the water supply system under the State Annual Action Plan. These include progressive steps towards augmentation and improvement of the existing water supply schemes for Chair, Giri, Chaurat, Ashwini Khad, Seog, and Gumma catchments. Additionally, it made provision of the water supply lines, leak detection machine, pumping machinery, sluice valves, four water tankers and water metres.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p>All these water sources provided water in the city\u2019s 25 wards and filtration plants\u00a0 at natural springs for enhancing the water quality and providing adequate water supply to residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p>Irregular billing hours, faulty payment systems, and building plans and unsustainable construction and population pressure are just a few reasons for the deteriorating water supply to the region.<\/p>\n<p>Responsible \u2018green tourism\u2019 , better urban planning with the active participation of all stakeholders are key factors to counter the current challenge.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In the long run however, better coordination between the administration and civil society along with a responsible role taken not just by the tourism industry but also by the tourists is the bare minimum needed to ensure that the \u201cQueen of Hills\u201d never looses it\u2019s prestigious title, grace and <i>crown.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Edited by: Raghujit S. Randhawa<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shimla &#8211; the majestic queen of hills is reeling under immense water shortage pressure. The intensity of the situation can be imagined by the call given out by the locals to all tourists to avoid visiting the city this summer. According to Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited (SJPNL), the erstwhile &nbsp;Summer Capital of India &nbsp;is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":378,"featured_media":18100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[869,494,1291,495,746,504,503,561,1290,251],"ppma_author":[1274],"class_list":{"0":"post-17921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-climatechange-2","9":"tag-lets-break-the-silence","10":"tag-shimla","11":"tag-sojnms-2","12":"tag-sojnmsignou","13":"tag-thevoices-2","14":"tag-thevoices-ignousojnms","15":"tag-thevoicesignou","16":"tag-unsustainabletourism","17":"tag-waterscarcity"},"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A parched \u201cQueen\u201d - The Voices<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/medialit.in\/thevoices\/a-parched-queen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A parched \u201cQueen\u201d - The Voices\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shimla &#8211; the majestic queen of hills is reeling under immense water shortage pressure. 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