From Manali To Leh, Tourists Are Spoiling Nature, Leaving Tonnes Of Garbage Trail And It Needs To Stop

When was the last time we saw a hill station devoid of any plastic bottle or other waste materials? Most of the answers would be on the negative. It seems our concern for the environment is going downhill rapidly. Hill stations in our country are brimming with garbage waste every passing month with tourists flocking the same with disregard to waste management.

From Manali to Dharamshala and Leh, all these places where hikers trek and tourists relax are leaving a huge trail of garbage including plastic bottles, waste materials, among other articles harmful to the environment.

Manali

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A few days back, Manali, which is a tourist hotspot in Himachal Pradesh, saw the serene hill station turn into a garbage dump with travellers leaving behind over 2,000 tonne of garbage waste in the past two months. Manali usually generates around 30-40 tonnes of waste every day during peak tourist season and with 10 lakh tourists flocking the tourist spot in May and June, this huge number of waste is mind boggling.

Dharamshala

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Dharamshala is a safe haven for trekkers. During the tourist season, the problem of solid waste management in the city increases exponentially. Overflowing dustbins and stinking solid waste is a common site. 

With floating population increasing manifold in Dharamshala during the tourist season, the problem of solid waste management in the city has increased. Overflowing dustbins and stinking solid waste along the roads is common site in the Upper Dharamsala region, a report in the Tribune India said.

Environmentalists are concerned about the waste management here. Solid waste management is an issue in itself but the least tourists and trekkers could do is they should carry the plastic waste, food packet wrappers with themselves keeping the nature's trail clean.

Leh

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Since the release of Bollywood film, 3 Idiots, Leh has seen a rise in the influx of tourists there. The rise on the number of tourists in the region has also seen the region's garbage output increase. A report in The Hindu stated over 65 tonnes of garbage was collected this year. However, what is fascinating is that the authorities have found a way to recycle and upcycle this waste. Recyclable products like biofuel and bricks were made out of waste collected from there.

Numbers don't lie

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Around 1.96 crore tourists, including 4.7 lakh foreigners, visited Himachal in 2017 and the number keeps rising every year, a report in the Times of India said. Tourist destinations like Manali, Rohtang, Dalhousie, Dharamsala and Shimla are clogged with waste material, all thanks to irresponsible tourists. Plastic bottles, wrappers of toffees, chips and biscuits are a common sight.

Sikkim is leading the way

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Fed up of tourists littering the environment, Lachung - a small town in Sikkim - has already forbidden the entry of disposable mineral water bottles. What is more fascinating about this fact is that this campaign is run entirely by locals, and cab drivers who regularly ferry people to and from the place. While the government has put up signboards to inform people about the ban, it is the local people of the area who are making sure that it does not become just another rule that no one bothers to follow.

Need to act before its too late

We are already witnessing a climate crisis and we start acting irresponsible by littering these mountains unnecessarily, then the future doesn't look good.