Water supply back to normal in Shimla, tourist footfall looks up
Shimla, June 15: The water supply in the Himachal Pradesh capital was back to normal on Friday after over a month of crisis that saw widespread protests, marches to Chief Minister's residence at midnight and even interventions by the high court.
The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) a day earlier announced it would supply water in the city every alternate day, a routine schedule followed in the city for many years.
"The daily water availability has improved to 35 to 40 million litres per day (MLD). So, the distribution has also increased," an official told here.
Planned by the British for a maximum population of 16,000, Shimla, now with a population of nearly 200,000, requires 42 MLD water.
This summer, Shimla for the first time in its history saw an unprecedented water crisis owing to drying up of water channels in its catchment.
Rampant water shortage forced residents to lock their water tanks and the government to provide security to the employees supplying water.
Old-timers blame water crisis over the years to losing green cover and natural water streams and springs due to unplanned urbanisation while water experts say deficient snow during the past winter triggered drought-like condition this season.
Locals rue that of late, Shimla has become synonymous with water scarcity -- both in summer and winter.
The civic authorities blame leakages in the distribution network, a significant portion of which goes back to the British days, and diminishing water resources that have been over-exploited to meet the increasing demand from the tourism industry.
Slamming the civic authorities and the state government over the water crisis, the High Court, which is still monitoring the situation, directed the municipal corporation that there should be no supply of water to any individual through a tanker, even to the VIPs, including the judges.
Listing the case for next hearing on June 18, the court wanted to know the steps initiated by the government and the municipal corporation for modernising the system of collection, pumping, uplifting and distribution of water.
As Shimla makes news for narrowly averting a Cape Town-like situation, water-starved residents turned to social media campaigns, asking the tourists to stay away from the northern India's famed hill resort during the peak holiday season.
According to the hospitality industry, at the height of tourism season, over 50 per cent of the bookings were cancelled this month.
However, a state Tourism Department spokesperson said the inflow of tourists was picking up gradually and about 20 per cent increase in hotel bookings was registered over the past one week of June.
"Now we are getting sufficient water supply every day. Even the footfall of the tourists has once again increased," D.P. Bhatia, Liaison Officer with the Shimla-based Oberoi Group of hotels, told here.
The water shortage had left the tourism industry representatives worried as Shimla gets 20,000-30,000 tourists on an average every weekend during the peak summer season -- during May-June.
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Three more arrested in connection with murder of Suhas Shetty in Mangaluru
Mangaluru (Karnataka), May 14 (PTI): The Mangaluru City Crime Branch has arrested three men in connection with the murder of Hindutva activist Suhas Shetty, officials said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Azaruddin alias Azar alias Ajju (29), Abdul Khader alias Noufal (24) and Vamanjoor Noushad alias Chotte Noushad (39), were arrested during the last two days, they said.
With the fresh arrests, a total of 11 people have been arrested in connection with the murder so far, police said.
According to a police statement, Azaruddin had previously been booked in three theft cases registered at Panambur, Suratkal, and Mulki police stations. He allegedly provided information about Shetty's movements to the other accused, aiding in the murder.
Khader is said to have assisted the accused during their escape in a car after the murder was committed.
Noushad is accused of having conspired with the others and directly participated in the crime. He has six previous criminal cases, including murder, attempted murder, and robbery conspiracy, registered at various police stations in Dakshina Kannada, police said.
Azaruddin has been remanded in judicial custody, while Khader and Noushad have been taken into police custody for seven days for further investigation.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and efforts are underway to trace other accused involved in the case.
Shetty, a known rowdy sheeter and Hindutva activist, was murdered by a group on May 1 within the Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru City.
