Himachal Pradesh

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.

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.

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.

Did you know that the Prime Minister’s vision of a free-wifi Varanasi faces major disruption because of monkeys that chew up the cables regularly? Or that even the elite in Lutyens’ Delhi have to battle the menace every day? Here’s a look at a pressing urban problem that hardly gets the attention it calls for.

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?

Shimla is one of those destinations that hold an irresistible appeal for tourists who wish to savour the charm of snowfall in India. Yet, every year, snow brings with it its own share of problems for the city and its people. Here’s how they are gearing up for it this winter.

Aima panchayat, an urban-rural agglomeration near Palampur, has its own modern garbage treatment park, with the facility to handle all kinds of waste, including plastic. Inspired by it, Shimla has now set up its own waste-to-energy plant, expected to help the capital in sustainable waste management.

Indiscriminate dumping of industrial effluents and untreated municipal waste in the Sutlej river, and various other channels flowing into it, is causing unprecedented incidence of cancer and other health hazards in the three states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

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.