Hundreds of people flocked to picnic destinations in the Kashmir valley on the occasion of annual Eid festival observed from 29 June to 1 July.
A huge influx of people, mostly locals, was witnessed on all three days of Eid ul Adha at Doodhpathri in Budgam, a local from Budgam told The Kashmiriyat.
Adil Syed said that the people visited with food, packed food items and other eatables, however, due to the absence of a dustbin resulting in the accumulation of waste throughout the area.
Furthermore, he said, no efforts were made by the authorities to collect these wastes during the holiday period, leading to a high level of pollution at Doodhpathri.
“It is evident that there has been a significant failure on the part of the public in fulfilling their civic responsibility to protect the environment at tourist locations by properly disposing of solid waste after consumption,” said Adil.
Additionally, the Doodhpathri Development Authority, bears a prime responsibility to ensure an adequate number of dustbin facilities are available, which is currently lacking, he said.
People go to Doodpathri and other places of scenic beauty, but leaving the garbage and plastic littered only causes damage to the ecosystem. Things like tossing plastic, food, and other waste into the pristine glaciers and mountains can provide dangerous for the fragile ecosystem.
According to official estimates, around 500 metric tonnes of trash are produced every day in the city of Srinagar and this amount rises during the summertime tourist season. Only 10 per cent of this waste is managed, as per official figures.
The same is true about other destinations of scenic beauty including Gulmarg, Sonamarg, and Pahalgam.
A minor but significant portion of Kashmir’s economy is tourism. But we must prevent unchecked tourism from irreparably harming Kashmir’s ecology and natural resources.