“A plea to everyone who loves mountains, it’s about time all of you stop visiting Shimla for a while. The city is facing acute water shortage, because of increase tourism, bad water management and bad winters earlier this year. The residents are barley getting water to drink, and at a few places, sewage water is being supplied to the houses. And it will only get worse as the tourists throng the place in large numbers during June, and it will make life really difficult for the locals…so don’t travel to Shimla for a while and help the mountains recover their water levels” 

Owing to the severe water crisis, this plea was made by a resident of Shimla and has been doing some serious rounds across social media. The 10 day catastrophe has led to the tourism industry of the hill station take a huge dip, with residents asking travelers to curtail their visit to the hill station. The Himachal Pradesh High Court had issued orders on Tuesday to curb all activities of construction and car washing. A recent order that the Court passed on Wednesday saw the Municipal Corporation acting on cutting off water supply to hotels which have not cleared their dues. 

It is not an uncommon sight now to see the streets flooded with residents, waiting to fill water from the tankers. This dire situation in Shimla has come up mainly due to an increase in population, with tourist activity reaching its peak during summers leading to a water supply of 45 million litres (approx) in the day. What the locals have been receiving does not even come close to how much is actually required before Shimla runs dry. Other causes of the water shortage that have been traced range from climate change and insufficient rainfall, inept infrastructure to faulty pipelines which have caused leakage. 

The court has, however, tried to provide a little respite for the inhabitants by directing the Chief Secretary to approach the army for a water diversion plan from the Annadale Golf Course. Meanwhile, there have been various protests organised by activists and residents, who have taken to the streets, pressing authorities to take concrete and fast measures to improve the situation.