Garbage back in Kalka Shimla railway line

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

In the period before 1972, when Himachal Pradesh was granted complete statehood and Shimla became its state capital, and after the colonial phase, the town had become a sort of cold storage even in terms of tourism. However, today,Shimla is one of the most sought after tourist destinations in India.

In 2018, there was a major clean-up initiative along the Kalka Shimla railway line. The area was cleared of tons of rubbish. However, things are same again. While much has been done to smarten the stations and trains, garbage is back on the surrounding hills and valleys. Villagers living along the line complain of their natural water sources becoming contaminated, and how on a regular basis, they have to remove garbage from their fields.

In the 1930s, famous journalist Malcolm Muggeridgesaid that Shimla was ‘an authentic English production; designed by Sahibs for Sahibs without reference to any other consideration.’

From the very inception of Shimla in the 1820s, a kind of impression developed around Shimla, due to its idyllic lifestyle coupled with colonial power. During the colonial phase, the town was also unapproachable for ordinary people. Those of moderate means simply could not afford a trip to or a stay in Shimla. Even after India’s independence in 1947, that halo still persisted and was evenprojected by India’s growing film industry.

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