Plastic and other trash in the seas, endangering acquatic life, has long been a matter of serious concern for not just environmentalists, but also those who love life. Now the mountains are also getting a trash cover. What is worse, it is likely to worsen as governments mindlessly approve development projects.
The Himachal Pradesh government, according to a press release issued on Tuesday, signed an MoU with Nomisma Banking and Financial Advisory paving way for the development of a wedding resort that will double up as a luxury resort, besides another with MKS Group for a naturopathy centre in the mountain state. These partners are likely to bring in foreign money as well as foreign technology towards this.
The exact location has not been decided yet, but the very idea has rattled the locals. Kulu-based entrepreneur Suresh Sood says the garbage disposal is a problem as residences and developments go higher, and the gorges amidst mountain slops have literally been giving the trash a cover all these years. While locals and “reasonable tourists” that give the locals a livelihood are okay, huge projects are a matter of concern.
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This comes close on the heels of a major cry against the way the big, fat wedding celebrations of South Africa-based Gupta business family at Auli in Uttarakhand reportedly left 240 quintals of garbage earlier this week. The Uttarakhand Municipal Corporation has confirmed that a user charge was deposited, but they had not anticipated the scale of the cleaning up operations, and the cost involved.
Apparently there was resistance to the double-wedding in Auli even as preparations were afoot, a PIL was moved. Following this, the Guptas had deposited Rs 3 crore with the Chamoli District Administration, which along with the Pollution Control Board, will submit a detailed assessment of damage caused and waste dumped in Auli.
That apparently has not rattled the Uttarakhand government which has stood its ground that Auli, a short-drive from Badrinath, can be developed as a major tourist destination.
All this, at a time when the trash on the Everest and the trek route has made many environmentalists demand a tighter regulation of the number of trekkers allowed, as well as greater enforcement of rules requiring them to bring back all the trash they generate.
