Scant showers bring little relief to parched Solan dist

Rain showers that lashed parts of Solan and Kasauli since last evening have brought little respite to the Jal Shakti Department, which has been grappling with an acute water crisis over the past few weeks.

Following scant winter rainfall, the discharge from a majority of the district’s water supply schemes has dropped sharply, impacting daily water supply in Solan, Kasauli and Kandaghat areas. In Solan city, water is now being received only once every four days, leaving residents anxious about the worsening scenario as summer advances.

The Municipal Corporation has already issued an alert, noting that the Giri and Ashwani rivers, the primary sources for the city’s water supply, are running low.

Solan district recorded a 33.1 per cent deficit in winter rainfall between November and February. Alarmingly, November and December recorded no rain at all, against normal averages of 9.3 mm and 28.9 mm respectively.

According to the Meteorological Department, only 1 cm of rain was recorded in Kasauli and Solan last evening, an amount too meagre to make any meaningful difference in recharging water sources.

Bhanu Uday, Assistant Engineer at the Jal Shakti Department, confirmed that out of the 65 water supply schemes in the Dharampur sub-division, nearly 60 per cent are facing shortages, with half of those suffering a 50 per cent or more decline in water availability.

Residents are already bearing the brunt, with schemes like the Gorti potable water scheme and others catering to Dharampur seeing drastic reductions. Areas such as Sanawar, Moti Kona, Shiller, Pathia, and Dharampur are reportedly under drought-like conditions, as their natural springs and sources have dried up considerably.

To keep tabs on the evolving crisis, field staff from the Jal Shakti Department are submitting weekly drought status reports to the district administration. With the dry spell expected to continue, the situation may worsen in the coming weeks unless substantial rainfall occurs.

Himachal Tribune