Shimla water crisis: Schools to remain closed from June 4-8

The schools in Shimla, which is reeling under severe water crisis, would remain closed from June 4 to June 8 and would instead remain open on during annual monsoon break which is scheduled for July, said an order by the Himachal Pradesh's Education department.

This is the order issued by the Education Department:

Shimla has been facing acute water shortage for over 10 days now and such is the situation that queues of people waiting for drinking water to be supplied can now be seen even on city's famous Mall Road, which once used to to be full of tourists. Hotels and lodges have been badly hit by the crisis, with cancellations pouring in after news of the water shortage became widespread.

Even the residents of the Shimla have appealed to tourists to not visit the city so as to not cause a further shortage.

Himachal Pradesh High Court earlier this week ordered a halt on construction activities and car washing for a week in the core areas of the parched state capital to save water.

Shimla's daily requirement of water is around 42 million litres a day but supply has come down to 22 MLD this year, said a NDTV report.

The water shortage is being attributed to a dry winter and a prolonged dry spell in the region. According to Hindustan Times, Shimla has no direct source of water and more than half of the town's water is lifted from Gumma, an area that draws water from the Shimla catchment sanctuary.