Himachal a ‘surplus water’ state, yet Solan grapples with severe scarcity

Ambika Sharma

Solan, June 15

Notwithstanding Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s claim of the state having surplus water, residents of the district are facing a scarcity of water.

Residents in various parts of the Kasauli Assembly segment are getting water once a week and the district administration has been unable to arrange tankers for them. Various area, including Dharampur, Garkhal, Sanawar, Joharji and Gandigram, which come under the Kasauli Assembly segment, are grappling with the water scarcity.

Tanker owners do brisk business

Tanker owners are doing brisk business in supplying water to hundreds of hotels, while they cared little about the administration’s demand for tankers. Though officials of the Jal Shakti Department have been submitting reports on potable water schemes facing shortage for a month, little has been done to address the problem to date.

Tanker owners are doing brisk business in supplying water to hundreds of hotels, while they cared little about the administration’s demand for tankers.

When questioned, Solan Deputy Commissioner Manmohan Sharma said, “Though tenders were invited for providing water tankers to areas like Dharampur and Garkhal, no one has come forward. The duration to apply for tenders was extended by two days, but to no avail.”

He said the Kasauli sub-divisional magistrate has been directed to engage water tankers to meet the exigency.

Though officials of the Jal Shakti Department have been submitting reports on potable water schemes facing shortage for a month, little has been done to address the problem to date.

Mahesh Attri, Executive Engineer, Jal Shakti Department, Dharampur, said there are 85 water supply schemes in his area and in 34 schemes, the availability of water has reduced below 75 per cent.

He said in the Larah scheme near Badaha village, residents are drawing water for irrigating their cash crops and they are allowing staff to lift water. “The problem has been discussed with the Solan DC and he has asked the Kasauli SDM to address the issue as people dependent on the scheme are deprived of water even after a week,” he added.

The administration has failed to provide water tankers in time and this has aggravated the woes of the residents who are forced to buy drinking water and arrange tankers on their own.

In Solan city, residents bear the brunt of water scarcity. The Jal Shakti Department is making efforts to cater to the needs of areas like Dharampur, Kumarhatti and Joharji, where most of the supply schemes have dried up.

The Giri water scheme also supplies water to Solan and nearby areas in the absence of any other option, said Solan Executive Engineer Ashish Rana.

‘Casteist abuse’ over water

The police have booked four persons of Tickethatti in the Kasauli area for hurling caste-based comments at a villager and his children while the latter were drawing water from a natural source at the village on Thursday evening. The complainant was asked not to take water from the source. The accused also took away cellphones of the complainant’s son and daughter.

The police have recovered the mobile phones and arrested the accused. They were identified as Ratti Pal, Krishan Kumar, Karun Kumar and Rohit. A case under sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been registered. The accused were also booked for snatching the mobile phones.