Villagers block highway over erratic water supply in Shimla

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 16

Upset over erratic water supply for the past many months, people from several gram panchayats falling under Theog Vidhan Sabha constituency blocked the national highway at Matiana, near Theog, today. The protesters, led by Theog MLA Rakesh Singha, first demonstrated outside the IPH Division office and then blocked the road in the afternoon, demanding that some senior IPH official come and talk to them. “People are getting water supply after 15-20 days for the past many months,” said Mahender Verma, one of the protesters. “That too just 50 to 100 litres. You can imagine the problem people of the region are facing.”

The protesters claimed that much of the problem was because of the shortage of staff and lack of maintenance of pipes and machinery. “The department’s staff has depleted over the years even as the number of consumers has increased. Why isn’t government filling the vacant posts to ensure smooth supply of water to people?” asked Singha. The people from the region had protested outside the Jal Shakti office in Shimla last year also.