While the temperatures across north India are reaching record heights, Shimla - Queen Of Hills in Himachal Pradesh, on the other hand, is battling with water scarcity for the consecutive seventh day. The popular Mall Road in the city, often busy with tourists from neighboring states has been witnessing long queues before the crack of dawn. It is being reported in all local dailies and national dailies.
For all you hill stations’ lovers, you might want to give Shimla a miss this summer if you don’t want to come back home parched and complaining about the water scarcity. One may also face resentment from the local residents as they have been active on social media asking tourists to stay away. Protesters have also blocked the Shimla-Kalka highway.
I had been there a couple of times as some of my friends are working there at Himachal Pradesh University. So I had checked the ground reality with them as I was also planning to visit in June to escape from the city’s temperature.
Also, the popular Shimla Summer Festival(that was to be held from June 1-5) has been postponed indefinitely by the government, in the light of the water crisis. Good news is that Dharamshala(also in H.P), does not have water shortages even in peak summer, even though major cities in H.P are facing the water crisis. My suggestion would be to either head to Dharamshala or other cities in Uttarakhand.