As someone, who actively engages with headlines concerning environmental issues, must have come across a video surfacing online, depicting the landfill of Achan area in Srinagar, the Summer Capital of Jammu & Kashmir. The place Achan, is the only Municipal Solid Waste landfill in Srinagar, which has turned out to be a dreadful sight. When I came across the video, it left me flabbergasted. Showing the landfill’s pathetic picture of a City, considered to be the heart of Vale of Kashmir, I could not stop myself to pen down few lines over the gravity of the situation. As the clip proceeded, it was shocking to discover that the landfill at present holds 11 lakh tonnes of ‘Legacy Waste’, as described by several environmental experts.
The term ‘Legacy Waste’, confused me a bit as I’ve hardly come across it till now. However, a video posted by a leading national English Daily ‘The Hindu’ brought much needed clarity on the term ‘Legacy Waste’. With a discussion involving Zerin Osho, the Director of Indian Program-Institute For Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) stating that the reason the term ‘Legacy Waste’ is used because the garbage/waste has been collected over several years. The ‘Legacy’ word is being used to indicate that the waste is left behind by the past and current generations for the future legacy.
This brought me to the thought that being an occasional traveler to Srinagar, since my childhood days I can hardly recall the city as something that is considerably seen as dirty, filthy or overwhelmed by trash. To discover the current state of affairs as something very similar to what I encounter every day in Metropolitan City like Delhi, the Capital of India, bringing a feeling of both agony and despair.
Kashmir or rather specifically Srinagar City has always existed in my memory as a spot with a historical civilization, a juxtaposition of sorrow and joy, with its beautiful surroundings including the World famous Dal Lake and the towering Zabarwan Mountain Range around standing tall, add immense beauty that holistically form the basis of this ancient city. However, to see a pile of discarded waste intruding into the immense beauty and life of the city is not what explains Srinagar as a leisurely place.
If we begin to look around, Srinagar is not the only special case to investigate or look for, almost every tourist spot in India is full of garbage and trash, be it even the small destinations like-Narkanda and Mashobra in Himachal Pradesh. During June, July and August, pictures of excessive trash, litter and garbage piles took over these destinations, often displayed on various social media networks. We can’t witness any different state of trash in these places as it is in Kashmir. The state of cleanliness is nothing less of a disappointment. Even such small towns, with significantly fewer residents were treated as a garbage bin during the peak tourist season in India, particularly from June till August.
But ultimately, what does all of this signal? Lack of civic sense? A high level of system failure? Or just less coverage on issues like landfills/garbage piles? Or could it be because tourists often leave hill stations as disposable sites, meant only for a small vacation, with zero expectations of ever returning back to the same place and not realising the residue of their holiday enjoyment has turned into a legacy that they may be a part of or may never be.
The author is a student of Sociology at the University of Delhi.
