SHIMLA: A woman today died after being allegedly hit by a water tanker in Shimla, which has been facing acute water shortage for over a week now.
The incident happened at Shimla's busy Mall Road, reported news agency ANI. The woman was declared brought dead after she was taken to Indira Gandhi Medical College.
The municipal corporation have been distributing water under police protection. Over 70 police personnel have been specifically deployed to deal with the situation in the water-deprived hill-station.
Shimla, a popular tourist destination, has been facing acute water shortage since the the last week of May. The situation has reached such a point that the Himachal Pradesh High Court had to step in. The Centre also had sought a report on the matter from the state government.
Protests have been held in different parts of the city as severe water scarcity continues. Locals also expressed their anger on social media with some asking tourists to stay away from the hill town.
The tourism industry in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla has also been massively hit as tourists are cancelling their visits to the hill-station.
The Shimla administration has also postponed a major tourist attraction, International Shimla Summer Festival, scheduled from June 1 to 5 due to the scarcity of water.
The total availability of water from all sources in Shimla now is 21.75 million litres per day against a requirement of 32-35 MLD.