Concerns over dumping of muck near hospital, large building at Summer Hill, Shimla

Shimla, June 28

Former Deputy Mayor of Shimla Tikender Panwar has written a letter to Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, apprising him two issues: muck dumping in the gorge near the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) hospital, and a massive structure coming up in the Shiv Bowri area of Summer Hill, where a landslide had killed 20 people last year.

Panwar alleged that the municipal corporation is dumping muck into the gorge.

“The gorge was flooded even in 2023 and the road leading to the IGMC hospital was blocked for a few days. Right below the gorge is a ‘sarai’ for cancer patients. The dumping could lead to a disaster,” wrote Panwar, urging the Chief Secretary to set up a robust system to check such violations.

He said a big structure is coming up near the Summer Hill gorge at the same site where a huge landslide had killed 20 people last year. Panwar claimed that the structure is coming up despite objections raised by the civic body authorities. “It seems that the authorities and those who are constructing the three-storey structure on government/forest land have not learnt any lessons. I hope you will direct Shimla administration and the municipal authorities to intervene so that the repeat of last year doesn’t take place,” wrote Panwar.

He said the Himalayan region is among the most vulnerable to natural disasters as per the IPCC VI report. “I want to point out that we should sharpen our vision and draw up processes in gearing up our preparation to ensuring that there is a minimum loss to both assets and lives of the people,” he added.