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HomeAuthorsAshwani Sharma

Articles by Ashwani Sharma

About Ashwani Sharma
Ashwani Sharma is a senior journalist based in Shimla.
Economy

Inflation+recession=Poverty+high prices. The corollary: Hunger

June 29, 2021 Ashwani Sharma

For most middle and low income urban families, the only way to cope with the rising inflation has been to slash expenditure on food.

Governance

Municipal corporations formed for three hill towns in Himachal Pradesh — Will it solve their woes?

April 28, 2021 Ashwani Sharma

A former BJP MLA from one of the towns expects the elected bodies to ensure better execution of works and funds utilisation. People are not very hopeful, though.

Commute

Yet another plan to regulate traffic in Shimla, but will it work?

March 4, 2021 Ashwani Sharma

The heavy tourist influx during peak summers and weekends negates any and all traffic mobility plans the city administration draws up. Will the new SITRAM be any different?

Environment

Solar energy drive to make Shimla a ‘green’ city

November 24, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

Ignored and untapped till now, the potential of solar energy to power Shimla and other urban centres is being realised only now .

Infrastructure

Shimla’s old tunnels are crying for attention; planned ones in limbo

October 8, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

Maintenance of its British-era tunnels and creation of new ones could be effective solutions to mobility challenges in the hill town. But clearly, government priorities lie elsewhere.

Environment

Shimla’s haphazard building policy a recipe for climate disaster

September 1, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

As per official estimates, there are more than 31,000 unauthorised buildings in major hill towns in Himachal Pradesh, with Shimla constituting 30 per cent of these.

Environment

State-of-the-art early warning system to save more lives in Shimla, Kullu, Manali during extreme climate events

July 23, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

Extreme weather events triggered by climate change pose huge risk to life in Himachal Pradesh. To mitigate these risks, the state is now all set to install a first-of-its-kind automatic ‘Early Warning System’ in Kullu district.

Water Supply

From ‘water-starved’ to ‘water-surplus’: Shimla’s success story inspiring other Himachal towns

July 14, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

With the hill town shut, the administration was able to introduce better water conservation systems and improve operational efficiencies. What can other ULBs in the region learn from it?

Economy

Tourism and local industries at a standstill, will infrastructure revive Himachal’s urban economy?

May 25, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

Himachal Pradesh has seen nearly 80 per cent loss of livelihoods, both rural and urban. The government is now pinning hopes on opening up construction and other infrastructure projects.

Health

Shimla’s unsung corona warriors on alert 24X7

May 16, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

For the past six weeks, Shimla’s 260 odd sanitation workers are putting in extra hours to clean and maintain sewerage lines, hoping to keep its 2.3 lakh citizens safe from infection.

Inflation fallout: Where will the next meal come from for these unemployed workers
Society

Shimla: Hunger looms large as jobs fall prey to COVID-19

April 15, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

Sirmauris, as natives from Shillai are known, have been living for years in Shimla working as porters, tourist guides, taxi drivers, private security and waiters. So have the roughly 8000 porters from Kashmir. But none of them have faced such a financial crisis ever before, unable to meet even their basic food needs.

Economy

Shimla: Corona fears cast shadow over Himachal’s apple produce

April 6, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

The worry among Himachal’s fruit growers is not just that the coronavirus lockdown will affect the apple orchards, but also the farms growing cherries, pomegranate and green almonds, all of which normally hit the market in July-August.

Civic

Shimla: Playgrounds and parks vanish in the name of development

March 11, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

In the once-green British-era hill town of Shimla, unplanned urbanisation and construction have gobbled up most of the parks and grounds that children used to play in. Thankfully, there is a strong citizen-led movement that may force the government to take action to reverse this.

Society

Nostalgia: No more frolicking on the ice in Shimla

January 22, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

Even as it celebrates the centenary of its creation, Shimla’s iconic natural ice skating Rink seems to be dying a slow death, primarily due to environmental changes and unplanned urbanisation in its surroundings.

Governance

Smart city Dharamshala aspires to be more than a picturesque spiritual retreat

January 2, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

For decades, Dharamshala’s only claim to fame was as the home of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. A recent spurt of growth and the tag of ‘smart city’ has seen the town aiming to emerge as one of the best business and tourist destinations in India. Can it succeed?

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