Bhagsunag waterfall in Dharamsala goes dry

Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, April 1

Bhagsunag waterfall, main tourist attraction in upper Dharamsala, has virtually dried up much to the disappointment of locals. Alleged over-exploitation of water from the stream feeding the waterfall by Army and Civil Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) authorities is being cited as the reason.

Vikas Nehria, a resident of Bhagsunag, said the waterfall used to be the centre of attraction of tourists. A few years earlier even in summer months of May and June waterfall used to have enough water. Tourists used to bathe and swim in the pond near the waterfall. Most of the streams feeding it have been exploited badly for water supply schemes of the Army and the civil authorities. The water schemes should be designed in a way that they do not destroy the heritage of the area, he said.

Sanjeev Gandhi, general secretary of the Smart City Dharamsala Hotel Association, while talking to The Tribune, said that the Bhagsu waterfall was very popular with the tourists and the most famous ‘selfie point’ at upper Dharamsala. The government departments should create a check dam on the stream supplying water to the fall so that ample water is available even in the lean summer season.

About 12 lakh litre of water is being lifted daily for supply schemes of the Army and the IPH Department from the stream feeding the waterfall. This leaves almost nothing in the stream to create a waterfall, as it falls from a cliff in the Bhagsu area, especially during summer months when there is a scarcity of water.

The lifting of water from the stream feeding the waterfall has increased in the last about a decade thus adversely affecting its flow.

Executive Engineer, IPH Department, Dharamsala, Sarvan Thakur, said that the Army authorities pick water from the stream feeding Bhagsu waterfall through two six-inch pipes. “We also have laid four pipes to source water from the stream. Recently to cope up with the shortage of water, we added two more two-inch pipes to source water from the stream,” he said.

The residents of Bhagsu said that the government should adopt an innovative method to extract water from natural resources such as streams in the region so that the natural ecology of streams is not affected. If streams dries up, they damage the entire ecology. The development of small check dams that can store water at various levels can help solve the problem of water shortage in Dharamsala and also help in maintaining the flow.

12 lakh litre water being lifted daily

• About 12 lakh litre water is being lifted daily for water supply schemes of the Army and the IPH Department from the stream feeding the waterfall
• This leaves almost nothing in the stream to create a waterfall, as it falls from a cliff in Bhagsu area, especially in summer months when there is a scarcity of water
• The lifting of water from the stream feeding the waterfall has increased in the last decade, adversely affecting its flow