If its a vacation time, most people choose between beaches and mountains. Are you a mountain person? If yes, you might have certainly planned to trek through the hilly terrain of Himachal Pradesh, or wished to enjoy a friends' trip in the snowy land. However, a photo from the Solang Valley in Palchan has drawn the attention of social media users for showing how allegedly tourists dropped trash and turned the beautiful space into a filthy one, also harming the environment.
The image, as well as the incident, has been reported since years together alleging that people who visit the serene snowy land leave it recklessly littered. While the image was recently reshared on the internet, post the summer vacation period that attracts huge crowd to the hilly spots in Himachal Pradesh, it was originally posted months ago by an X user named Nalini Unagar.
Meanwhile, there are several ground reports that suggest that the concern about notorious tourists adding filth to the beautiful landscapes is true and needs attention. This March, a report in The Hindu pointed out that there is widespread littering of plastic waste in the region, while adding that the accumulation of non-recyclable waste, especially microplastics, have an adverse impact on nature and the water sources there. Another article drafted by Condé Nast quoted people involved in the cleanliness mission at the mountains and said it would take long to clear the piles of trash deposited there, "More than a lifetime."
Addressing the image which is going viral from the Himalayas, people have reacted with concern.
Seeing plastic wrappers and bottles thrown on the snowy lands, alongside a dog trying to search for some food among those rubbish, netizens were upset with what the pristine land is going through with respect to waste disposal and management. They urged the government to take strict action by levying heavy fine on those persons who are responsible for turning the mesmerizing valley into a pile of trash.
"This breaks my heart," wrote an internet user, while another added, saying, "I hate, and I mean hate hate, people who behave like this." "Government should levy heavy fines on these (beep)," people remarked.
