The Municipal Corporation of Shimla (SMC) and the police have made elaborate arrangements to ensure that tourists and locals don’t face inconvenience due to snowfall; the Met Department has predicted snowfall in the next few days.
The civic body has arranged seven JCB machines, two snow robots, adequate labour force and a large quantity of sand to clear snow and make commuting safe on the roads of the city.
Dinesh Thakur, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of the SMC’s road and building branch, said, “We have placed 350 cubic metre sand (around 70 trucks) in the city. Besides, the SMC under an open tender has asked a contractor to supply more JCB machine as per the requirement.”
He added that the civic body owned two snow robots that would be used to remove snow from roads where JCB machines couldn’t reach. “We wanted to purchase two more robots but the plan couldn’t be executed,” the SDO added.
He said that the SMC employed 150 workers while an open tender was in place with a contractor to provide more labourers, if required, to clear snow.
The police have also geared up to deal with any eventuality. A senior police official said the city had been divided into five sectors.
“Four reserves of police personnel (around 25 in one reserve) have been deployed on winter duty in the district. Ten additional 4X4 vehicles have been deployed at sensitive spots to assist traffic movement and rescue stranded people,” said another senior police official.
