Shimla, Dec 14 (PTI) Ice skating, the major winter attraction of Himachal Pradesh’s state capital Shimla commenced on Wednesday at the Asia’s biggest natural rink located near Lakkar Bazaar here, an official said.
Skating enthusiasts converged at the rink braving morning chill to enjoy the thrill of sliding on thin layers of ice.
“Skating makes me happy and I am enjoying” said nine-year-old Aayan, a student of class V in St Thomas School, among 16 kids taking to the rink in the first session.
“I was eagerly waiting for ice skating to start and enjoyed the first session”, said 21 year old Joannt Tatung, skating for the past 16 years. “It is a tough task to get up early in the morning but when it comes to skating, we are all out before time,” she added.
Clear sky during the winter with minimum temperatures staying below 4 to 5 degrees Celsius is most conducive for freezing of ice.
The trial was successfully done yesterday and today officially the ice skating has begun, said Organising Secretary of the Shimla Ice Skating Club, Pankaj Prabhakar.
Last year, the session started on December 16 and a total of 52 sessions were witnessed but this year,”we were hoping to start early as temperatures were favourable since December 4, However, it got delayed by almost two weeks as the ground was sinking from one side and levelling the ground took time. Moreover, Barracks put at the Rivoli bus stand have stopped the cold breeze, he said.
The ice is thin and the skaters would only have 80 per cent of the rink which is equal to size of five tennis courts (58 mts X 30 mts) as construction material for building the Lift from Lakkar Bazar to Mall Road under Shimla Smart City Mission, at the entry of the rink is lying on the ground, he told the PTI.
The skating Carnival with events like ice dance, Fancy dress, Tug of war and ice hockey match would be organized on December 25-26 and Gymkhana (races and sports competitions) in the first week of January 2023, said an official of the Club.
The subscription for full session for seniors and juniors (under 16) is Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,800 respectively. The rush would pick up after closing of schools and about 200 persons are expected to participate this year, he added.
The shrinking ice-skating season has been a cause of serious concern as it was a major winter attraction for the locals as well as tourists. The ice-skating which normally starts in the last week of November or first week of December was stretched to December 14 this year.
Due to climate change, global warming and reckless constructions in the vicinity of the rink, coupled with pollution caused by the bus stand adjunct to the rink, the ice skating session is shrinking. The construction activity around the rink and the felling of trees had also contributed to late sessions, Prabhakar opined.
December 2016 was warmest in the history of Shimla and maximum temperature soared to 22 degrees, spelling doom for Ice skating and only six sessions were held.
Earlier, minimum twelve ice skating sessions of were held in 1972 while the maximum 118 sessions were held in 1997-98, he said.
The history of the Shimla Ice Skating Club dates back to 1920, when tennis courts were converted into a natural ice skating rink by Irish military official, Blessington. In the winter months, when he sprinkled water on the tennis court to settle the grass, it froze within seconds and he immediately thought of converting the arena into Ice Skating Rink. PTI BPL RCJ
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