Tourists keep their cars clean, use hills as dustbins. Can anyone say atithi devo bhava?

The Nainital littering incident shows that many tourists can’t manage the simple act of putting their rubbish where it belongs. Their trash is a signature that reads—‘tourists were here’

Screengrab from a 14 December viral video showing a tourist in Nainital saying, "This is our business," when confronted about littering | Photo: Instagram/@_dark_hues

New Delhi: Growing up in an independent house, I often witnessed street fights between neighbourhood women. A common issue in these quarrels was littering in front of each other’s houses. And when Indians travel, they seem to carry this same neighbourhood culture with them. Of littering in the hills, on the beaches, and even on world-class highways. It’s the same selfish mindset: keep your house clean, treat the rest of the world like a trashcan.

Recently, two women tourists in Nainital were caught on video, shouting back at local people who urged them not to litter. “Mind your own business,” yelled  one of the women in the video. Well, that’s what those local residents were doing. Their hills, their business. The littering tourists, seemingly in their twenties, showed no regard for the environment. This begs the question: Are we trying to save the planet for people who can’t even manage their trash?

When confronted, the tourists got defensive because admitting fault and making it right isn’t considered “cool” enough.

Ironically, it is the young people who are often at the forefront of climate activism. However, such behavior suggests that their activism needs to travel beyond flashy conferences and podium promulgations, and on to the streets.

It is disheartening to see such behaviour by these 20-somethings, especially when world over, it is the young who are carrying the baton of saving the planet. Greta Thunberg has created an international momentum—but not enough for these young people to throw some wrappers in the dustbin.

 

Wallets don’t excuse waste

Contributing to a state’s economy doesn’t entitle anyone to trash it. The sad reality is that many Indians won’t walk straight unless there is fear of law. Despite numerous public awareness campaigns and advertisements, many people can’t manage the simple act of putting their rubbish where it belongs.

Destinations just a few hours from Delhi-NCR bear the brunt of this attitude. Tourists head to these spots in droves, often without contributing much to the local economy, but treating nature like a venue for their uncle’s wedding—

doing whatever they please without facing consequences. This lack of civic sense is baffling. The concept of using a dustbin is taught in primary school. It’s neither difficult nor demanding.

If people don’t realise the seriousness of this issue, they’ll soon find themselves visiting mountains of their own litter instead of the beautiful views of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

The frustration of local residents is understandable. Videos of them clashing with tourists over littering are now commonplace. Tourists throw garbage on roads, near trees, and even on pristine mountain trails. Plastic bottles, wrappers, and waste are scattered across every tourist route, from Uttarakhand to Himachal Pradesh. While they enjoy the mountains, they shirk any responsibility for keeping these places clean.

 

Clean cars, hills as dustbins

In the Nainital incident, reports mentioned that the tourists had discarded cake packaging and tissue paper on the road with the excuse that there were no dustbins nearby. But the video shows that the women were travelling in a car. They could have just taken back their trash and binned it wherever they were staying. Yet, that did not seem to occur to them. It’s the same selfish mentality: they wouldn’t ‘dirty’ their own car, but public property is fair game.

Another recent video from Manali’s Mall Road shows people discarding disposable plates, tea cups, and wrappers all over the area. They left their trash right there and walked away as if it wasn’t their problem.

The trashing epidemic is expanding to less explored tourist destinations too. It’s like a signature that reads—‘tourists were here’. As for local residents, we can’t blame them if they don’t believe in the saying ‘atithi devo bhava’.

Views are personal. 

(Edited by Asavari Singh)