Shimla: Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board today served notice on Hotel Wildflower Hall seeking a reply within a week about alleged discharge of sewage pollutants into a natural drainage channel that was contaminating drinking water sources of about a dozen villages downstream.
Nagin Nanda, member secretary HP state pollution control board when contacted said, “Hotel Wildflower Hall has been served a show cause notice and they have been asked to reply to it before 31 May.â€
The notice is said to have questioned the hotel about discharging effluents into the Nallah, which was not permitted under the accepted environmental norms.
Under the notice terms, the pollution control board is also said to have threatened to cut the electricity connection, should the hotel management not be able to muster a satisfactory explanation for the alleged violation.
On Saturday evening, officials of the pollution control board had taken soil and water samples from around the hotels sewage treatment and disposal systems.
“It was noticed that sewage water was being illegally disposed off into a natural drainage system,†Nanda said. The soil and water samples have been sent for lab testing,†he added.
The sewage treatment plant installed by the hotel is said to be of insufficient capacity (30 Kiloliter according to some reports) and it is being used to treat the about 80 to 100 kiloliter of waste water that is used on a daily basis for operating the 78 super luxury rooms for which the going tariff is Rs 22,000 to Rs 61,500.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads the team of media professionals at Hill Post.
In a career spanning over two decades through all formats of journalism in Electronic, Print and Online Media, he brings with him enough experience to steer this platform. He lives in Shimla.
