Covid-19 lockdown became an opportune time for authorities in Shimla to go for repair of drinking water supply pipes leaking for years long, an avoidable issue that always troubled the international tourist destination, which had been in news in the past for severe water crunch for different reasons.

Taking advantage of deserted roads and streets after imposition of curfew in the state on 24 March, the repair teams of Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited (SJPNL) took up the task to plug leaking pipes at 48 locations in the city, checking wastage of around 3.5 million litres of potable water per day (MLD).

“The water supply system in Shimla is a mix of old and new pipelines. Initially, the water supply pipes were laid in 1924. Many pipes had been leaking for years long, leading to lots of wastage of drinking water. However, we were unable to repair them owing to the rush of people and heavy traffic in routine on the roads. We could not have dug up the areas in routine. So we decided to do this work on priority in lockdown period,” said Managing Director cum Chief Executive Officer, SJPNL, Dharmendra Gill.

He said the water audit by SJPNL when it came into being in 2017-18 had reflected that 10 per cent water is wasted during supply, which included the leaking pipes, overflowing tanks and other issues. “We have repaired pipes at 48 points and are identifying more as lockdown is a great opportunity for us,” Gill said.

SJPNL is currently drawing around 47-48 MLD water on an average per day from six schemes and it is adequate to meet city’s requirement. The additional 3.5 MLD will improve the distribution of potable water and reduce the production cost.

Even as Shimla folks, who are used to rationing of water, have a reason to stay cool at home during the lockdown as they are enjoying the luxury of abundant daily water supply now in most of the areas, the SJPNL authorities do express surprise that entire supply is exhausted in the city every day, even when hotels and restaurants are closed. “Maybe the people in Shimla have gone more cautious about sanitation and are using more water for cleaning houses and washing clothes,” reasoned an SJPNL official.

Good flow in the water sources apart, the SJPNL too has been pro-actively streamlining water availability and distribution by improving ground situation since it was given the task a year and a half ago. (Earlier, Shimla Municipal Corporation used to distribute water in the city).

“Easing of water situation is a great relief. We have faced acute water shortage all these years due to same old problems in summers, rainy season and even in winters. The worst crisis was in May 2018, when we did not get water for over 10 days continuously. For the first time, it led peaceful people of Shimla fight with each other for buckets of water,” said Leela Sharma, a septuagenarian.

With water availability dropping to 26-27 MLD for the city in May, 2018, the government had to even advise tourists in peak season not to visit Shimla in view of acute water shortage then.