Rain brings relief to Shimla, eases town’s water woes

Shimla, June 23

The recent spell of rain has come as a blessing for residents of the state capital, with the water level in sources registering an increase. The Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Ltd (SJPNL), the company that manages the town’s water supply, has decided to provide drinking water after a gap of three days. Earlier, the town was getting water supply after four days, as the SJPNL had resorted to water rationing due to the shortage.

On Sunday, 42.60 MLD water was supplied to the town, including 21.82 MLD from Gumma, 15.11 MLD from Giri, 2.65 MLD from Churot, 0.85 MLD from Chairh and 2.17 MLD from Koti Brandi scheme.

Earlier, the water schemes were on the verge of drying up, resulting in water crisis in the town. As a result, the water supply across the town was drastically cut, leaving the residents high and dry. Until Thursday, the company provided 30 to 33 MLD water to the town. On June 15, the town received 29 MLD of water supply, which was the lowest in the season. To meet their daily requirement of water, people had to depend upon spring water sources and hand pumps besides waiting in long queues for hours.

As the water crisis deepened, Urban Development Minister Vikramadiya Singh had ordered a ban on construction activities in the town till June 30.

However, with the water level in the sources getting back to normal, SJPNL for the past two days is providing 42 to 43 MLD drinking water, which is 4-5 MLD less than the actual requirement of the town.

AGM (Water), SJPNL, PP Sharma said they had augmented water supply from the six main sources to ensure that people of the town get adequate supply.