"Vegetables drying up, electricity supply erratic": HP's Agriculture Minister on water crisis
Jun 19, 2024
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 19 : Amidst the water crisis in Himachal Pradesh, the state's Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar spoke about the different problems related to the agriculture sector and said that the vegetables are being dried up and the electricity required for the irrigation is also erratic in the state.
Speaking with ANI, Chander Kumar said, "Because of droughts, the vegetables have dried up. Amidst the rising temperature, they are required to irrigate the plants four times instead of two times. The resources of water have also dried up."
Speaking up about the other problems, the Agriculture Minister said, "The tube wells cannot be established in the upper areas. The state doesn't have any big irrigation projects that the government can work to improve."
Kumar also talked about the problems that the state is facing related to electricity and said, "The irrigation system also needs electricity and the electricity in the state is so erratic that sometimes a fan or even a tubewell doesn't work. There are many underlying issues..."
Notably, Shimla is facing a water crisis due to the hot weather conditions. The residents are using the traditional water sources to meet the water problem.
The residents in the city are getting water after every three days while in some areas, people are receiving water after every five days. There are over 46 traditional water sources (Bowari) that are being used by the residents in the city.
The daily consumption of water in Shimla City is 45 million litres a Day (MLD). The Shimla Municipal Corporation is rationing the water supply in the city.
"We are facing a water crisis. We have regular consumption of 45 million litres a Day (MLD), it is always sufficient with 42 MLD. The number of tourists is increasing here these days. Today we received 31 MLD, in some areas we are supplying water after two days. We have appealed to the residents to use water judiciously. The water source is also getting dry, I want to increase the storage capacity. We shall also try to supply drinking water separately and allow the start of rainwater harvesting. We are working on it," Sanjay Chouhan, Mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation, had said on Monday.
