Shimla: ADB to grant Rs 40 crore for upgrade of ice skating rink in Shimla

Subhash Rajta

Shimla, December 15

Plans to convert the century-old ice skating rink in Shimla into an all-weather facility have failed for one reason or the other. Repeated attempts have been made to upgrade the rink over the past seven or eight years but nothing has changed on the ground. The only thing that changes is the funding agency and the budget for the project.

Manpreet Singh, Secretary, Shimla Ice Skating Club, said during a press conference here today that the rink would be upgraded at a cost of Rs 40 crore. “Now, the Tourism Department will implement the project while Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide funds. A detailed project report has been prepared in this regard and we are hopeful that tenders will be floated soon,” he added.

Last year, the Youth and Sports Department was to implement the project with funds from the Shimla Smart City Mission. A budget of Rs 21 crore was earmarked but the project did not take off. The upgrade plans had been shelved twice before due to various reasons.

Members of the executive committee of the club said that an all-weather ice-skating rink would provide a massive boost to tourism. “Even if tourists extend their stay in the city by one or two days due to the presence of the all-weather ice skating rink, it will immensely benefit the stakeholders of the tourism industry,” said Rajat Malhotra, organising secretary of the club. “Diplomats from the embassies of European countries and Canada frequently fly to Ladakh to play ice hockey. They will prefer coming here if we have the all-weather facility,” he added.

It would also offer a much larger window to local ice skating and ice hockey enthusiasts to hone their skills. Ice skating coach Pankaj Prabhakar said the time for these activities was shrinking due to factors like global warming, deforestation and haphazard construction.

“There was a time when we used to conduct close to 100 sessions from November to February. Now, we struggle to reach even 50 sessions due to unfavourable weather,” he added.

He said that changing weather patterns had made it imperative to have an artificial all-weather facility.

Earlier, ice skating sessions started any time after November 20. However, this year, the club was still struggling to start the session even in mid-December. “It is December 15 and we still don’t have the required temperatures to start sessions,” said Prabhakar.

Will boost tourism

• Last year, the Youth and Sports Dept was to implement the project through the Smart City Mission funds
• A budget of Rs 21 crore was earmarked, but the project did not take off
• The upgrade plans have been shelved twice before
• An all-weather ice-skating rink will provide a massive boost to tourism
• Rajat Malhotra, organising secretary of the Shimla Ice Skating Club, said diplomats of European countries & Canada, who fly to Ladakh to play ice hockey, will prefer coming to Shimla if the city had the all-weather facility