Articles by Ashwani Sharma

An innovative experiment in Kullu inspired a similar initiative in Shimla, where the book café, managed by jailed convicts, has turned into a vibrant literary hub, attracting the city’s creative fraternity. Such has been its success that three more are being planned.

Every year, heavy monsoon rains cause the uprooting or instability of many large trees, posing a risk to life and property. Then again, the same pretext is used for rampant illegal tree felling in the town, that has led to loss of 50-55% of its green cover over the last 30 years.

Migrant Kashmiris working in other states have been unable to communicate with their families due to the communication blackout in the aftermath of the scrapping of Article 370 and reorganisation of the state. Shimla’s porters mirror the condition of Kashmiris around the country.

53 projects in all are envisaged under the Shimla Smart city mission, all to be completed by 2022. But a severe crunch of funds, coupled with an NGT ban on new construction to arrest haphazard and risky sprawl, makes it all seem unrealistic and unattainable.

Summer heat in the northern plains sees tourists flocking in huge numbers to Shimla, Kullu-Manali and the scenic Rohtang Pass. But just look at what it does to the ecology and the regular lives of citizens here.

50-60 percent of youth in Shimla are caught in a massive drug menace, as addicts, peddlers or both, says the owner of a rehab centre in the city. Other surveys yield similar findings. What has led to this and why is an effective crackdown missing?

In the summer of 2018, Shimla’s peak tourist season, not a drop flowed in the taps of the town for over a week and thousands of visitors had to leave. May 2019 has seen a remarkable reversal in the water situation, but can the town afford to be complacent?

Both the Congress and BJP have fielded candidates with a military background, presumably in line with the national campaign theme of the BJP — that of nationalism and security — but voters in Shimla have more immediate concerns and demands that they want their MP to take up.