Chill brings good tidings for Shimla ice skating rink

SHIMLA - A thin layer of ice has formed at Shimla’s 90-year-old ice skating rink, bringing the promise of fun-filled skating sessions for professionals and tourists alike - something they were unable to enjoy last year due to negligible snow.

Bhuvnesh Banga, secretary of the Ice Skating Club, told IANS: “This year a timely setting in of the chill in Shimla has raised hopes of good skating sessions in the next few weeks.”

The club manages the one-of-its kind natural ice skating rink that came up in 1920.

“In the past one week, a thin layer of ice has surfaced on a small portion of the rink. Though the ice melted soon, some locals managed to enjoy skating.”

“Now a continuous spell of snow in the higher reaches has brought down the temperature considerably across the state. If such conditions persist, the rink will soon be ready with a thick sheet of ice. A clear sky at night and a good spell of rain are ideal for freezing the water,” he said.

Last year professional and amateur players as well as tourists were left disappointed as the winter saw negligible snow in Shimla and unusually high temperatures.

“As against the normal 65 to 90 skating sessions, only 27 sessions were held last year (2008-09) due to a prolonged dry spell and abnormally high temperatures. Most of the sessions were held only in December,” Banga said.

After touching a peak of 165 from 1960-61, the skating sessions ranged from 110 to 120 in the early 1980s and numbered 46 in 2007-08.

Irish military official Blessington, who was residing in the area, had got the idea of setting up a natural ice skating rink. He had inadvertently kept a bucket of water outside his residence and found in the morning that it had frozen. That gave him the idea of a skating rink and he created a small one of his own. Blessington also trained his Indian servants in the art of sprinkling water on clay ground that freezes under natural conditions.

Old-timers recall how the skating rink used to be a centre of attraction for tourists and skaters alike.

M.R. Kaundal, an octogenarian who has lived in Shimla since 1950, said the skating rink was one of the landmarks of the town.

“Earlier people used to come from across the globe to enjoy winter skating. Of late, the town has been witnessing erratic snow and abnormally high temperature. These are slowly taking a toll on the skating rink,” he said.

Sanjay Verma, project officer with the state Department of Environment, Science and Technology, attributed the declining skating sessions to rising air pollution, a high intensity of human activity and deforestation in the vicinity of the rink.

“In recent years, a number of trees that provided shade to the rink have been axed. The hill overlooking the rink has been virtually transformed into a concrete jungle. The number of buses coming to a bus stand located near the rink has increased manifold. Vehicular pollution is steadily increasing the temperature,” he said.

Sensing the threat to the skating rink from rising temperature, the authorities have forwarded a Rs.10-million project to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for setting up a refrigeration plant.

“A project was submitted to the SAI four years ago for setting up a refrigeration plant for artificial freezing of ice. That will not only reduce the dependence on the weather for ice formation but also help prolong the skating sessions,” Banga said.

The Ice Skating Club is affiliated to the Ice Skating Association of India and the Winter Games Federation of India. The first national ice-skating championship was organised here by the Indian Olympic Association in 2000.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)