VISAKHAPATNAM: Kartheeka masam with its annual routine of picnics and day out in the nature is turning out to be a major concern for environmentalists and nature lovers in the city. Family gatherings and Vanamhotsav festivals have turned the city’s tourist spots downright ugly, with people littering the places with garbage, food and unacceptable amounts of plastic. What is even worse is, despite the heaps of filth making for an appalling sight, picnic goers are still unabashedly adding their own share of rubbish to the piling mounds.
It has become a regular affair for some NGOs of the city to take up cleanliness drives in January and February to clean tourist spots, including Erra Matti Dibbalu, Thotlakonda, Bavikonda and many places on the stretch from RK Beach to Bheemili. The Zoo Park, Kambalakonda, Kailsagiri, Shilparamam, Rushikonda beach, VUDA Park, Thotlakonda, Araku, Chaparai, Borra Caves and many other scenic places of the district and even some areas of Vizianagaram district draw huge crowds. Some tourist spots are supervised by Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) or other departments which have mandatory staff to clean and maintain the areas, but heritage sites and garden areas along the coastal stretch do not have any such staff, leaving them open to all to fill the spots with filth and none to clean up the mess. The absence of dustbins at these places is only worsening the situation.
Ken Foundation founder P Santosh said, “Generally people during their picnics throw disposable items like plastic plates, water bottles and sachets. Piles of such things can be seen at heritage sites like Erra Matti Dibbalu, Thotlakonda and green areas between Tenneti Park and Bheemili. As they do not come under any department, there are no bins, cautionary boards or anything to make sure people do not litter those areas.”
Ken Foundation and some societies here take up cleanliness drives at heritage sites and tourist spots lifting tonnes of garbage in January and February after the picnic season.
The hot spots in Visakhapatnam agency are faring no better, with people turning even the most serene of places into veritable dumpyards. Scenic spots like Chaparai and Araku Valley have become an eyesore with tourists littering waste for lack of dustbins and proper management by authorities concerned. The Chaparai in Dumbriguda area draws huge crowds daily in winter, but still no cleanliness is maintained. “There is not even a single bin in any of the areas to dump waste. The tourists are forced to throw the remains there itself after consuming bamboo chicken, sugarcane and other food items. Some even throw the waste in the water bodies, even as others swim and frolic in the waters,” said Hemanth Reddy, a tourist from Hyderabad.
Environmentalists are concerned over the abominable amounts of plastic waste, being dumped everywhere, along the coastline and in the green hills. Though the government has been creating awareness to minimise the use of plastic, the callous disregard for the same is apparent.
Though the environmentalists and NGOs are requesting the authorities to set up dustbins and caution boards at tourist spots and create awareness against littering and using harmful plastic, what is really the need of the hour is for Vizagites to grow a conscience.