Spring water to make Shimla summer-ready

Navneet Rathore

Shimla, March 17

To address the issue of shortage of water in the state capital during the summer and monsoon season, the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) has decided to use spring water from various fresh water sources across the town after purification.

For this, the corporation will be setting up a plant where the spring water will be purified to make it fit for consumption.

There are 41 freshwater sources in the town. However, water in most of these sources is not fit for domestic use. The Corporation has planned to start the testing of spring water from April.

SMC Mayor Surinder Chauhan said there were many freshwater sources across the town where water was available throughout the year. He said many people use spring water for their daily use. Chauhan said after purification, water from these fresh water sources could be used in order to tackle the water shortage. The Mayor said the work of renovation and improvement of the spring water sources would be done by spending around Rs 75 lakh.

There are around 35,000 consumers of water in the town, including 25,000 domestic and 10,000 commercial users. Around 45 MLD water is used across the town on a daily basis. However, Shimla witnesses acute shortage of water during the summer and monsoon season due to which people of the town face a lot of inconvenience.

In summers, the shortage of water arises due to the decrease in the water level in sources, while the supply is hampered due to the increase in the slit in the water sources during the monsoon season. The town gets its water supply from six sources, out of which Giri and Gumma are the main.