Unpleasant facts can’t be wished away: The peak tourist seasons invariably expose Munnar’s seamier side. That’s when, after a repast, heaps of disposable plates and cups, plastic water bottles and bags, food leftovers, etc., are mindlessly dumped by busloads of uncaring picnickers on the roadsides in the town’s environs, enticing packs of mongrels to rummage through the mess. Compounding the problem are numerous tea and snack stall owners who conveniently offload their waste, too, on roadsides.
Driving through the lush tea gardens, one is inevitably greeted by this recurring eyesore. It’s truly disgusting to see the unspoilt countryside—including verdant meadows where wild elephants graze—being desecrated in this manner.
It does make one wonder how domestic tourists can be so insensitive to their surroundings. Indeed it reflects a shocking lack of civic sense and consideration for others. What makes their apathy even more reprehensible is the availability of waste bins nearby. All that’s needed is the willingness to walk a short distance.
Littering one’s surroundings with impunity is gaining acceptance here. Garbage is routinely and nonchalantly tossed out of running vehicles; sometimes I’ve even seen these discards narrowly miss pedestrians. The selfish aim is to keep one’s vehicle clean at all costs, never mind if one ends up littering the roads and nettling passers-by.
The local administration’s industrious band of sweepers and garbage collectors manfully fan out every morning, but find themselves pitted against a daunting task—such is the magnitude of littering and waste generation. Yet they dutifully scour the town and its surroundings, cleaning up to the extent possible, only to find themselves frustratingly back to square one the next day. In this context I recall the caustic comment of a foreign tourist that I once overheard here, much to my dismay: “Have we come all the way here to view and sniff the mounds of garbage left behind by others?”
Munnar has for long grappled unsuccessfully with sanitation problems due to the ever-increasing influx of tourists, and the end of its struggle doesn’t seem to be near. The urgent need to be environment-friendly just cannot be overstressed in a region that’s ecologically fragile. Perhaps it’s time to consider punitive on-the-spot fines for those caught littering.
George n Netto
Email: gnettomunnar@rediffmail.com