With each passing day, local tourism in Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing a major boost for the last few years, with locals here exploring their own health resorts, mostly around their localities. Particularly in Summer, the locals in nook and corner of Kashmir valley can be seen roaming around the health resorts on a daily basis, wherein they enjoy the beautification of such places. With increased flow, most of the places have turned pathetic, as the majority of people throw empty bottles and wrappers, in and around these places, thereby making them full of garbage, which is a matter of grave concern. The most unfortunate part is that many educated and responsible citizens are also invloved in the practice of throwing such items around such scenic spots, which needs to be stopped. At one end, authorities have opened border tourism, apart from declaring dozens of villages in North and South Kashmir, as tourist spots, but at another end, most of us are turning these spots into dumping sites by putting bottles, wrappers & other waste. Kashmir valley is known for having extraordinary natural beauty, as the valley is having plethora of mountains and tourist destinations in around all the corners, while its looks change with every season, whether it is Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter. The places here, particularly Srinagar, Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonmarg, Yousmarg, & Doodhpathri are very attractive and remain loaded with the movement of foreign tourists, which literally indicates that tourism sector in Kashmir is the backbone of our economy. However, we need to take care of all such places, besides keeping our local health resorts free from garbage, so that beauty around these spots remain unfaded. Apart from that, we need to setup our business units around those areas, which were recently taken on tourism map, so that it generates employment to some extent, but one thing we need to do is to ensure cleanliness in and around the localities. For Example Narastan village in Tral was recently taken to tourism map, following which locals heaved a sigh of relief, while a tourism hut was also established there. Soon after that, a local youth established a restaurant there, wherein he is successfully working for several months and is hosting even foreign tourists, besides a large number of local visitors, particularly on holidays.
Organizations and individuals, besides some initiatives from govt also play a key role in keeping our resources preserved. This all should not be limited to some events or occasions only, but should adopt a consistent way, so that our valley remains neat & clean and we remain fit and fine. Therefore, we all need to work individually to keep our surroundings free from filth, and should promote our health resorts with dignity.
The youth however has put dustbins around the restaurant to maintain cleanliness, which is literally a great step and needs appreciation from all. The Messenger of Allah said: Cleanliness is half of faith, so we need to ensure cleanliness always, which will surely help us in many ways. We need to create public awareness about the importance of nature, and should voluntarily work for the welfare of forests, water bodies, and other resources. The governmental, non-governmental organisations and schools, colleges should play a vital role in making people aware about the importance of health resorts and should ensure that such resorts remain free from garbage, so that our resources are boosted. Recently, a youth, named RJ Umar Nisar, who runs a podcast channel, started an initiative of cleaning a well known health resort ‘Panir Dam’ in South Kashmir, which is known for its natural beauty, and had unfortunately fallen victim to the negligence of visitors in recent times. Recognizing the urgent need to restore and protect this invaluable natural resource, RJ Umar Nisar, along with several prominent professionals from diverse walks of life, initiated a comprehensive cleanness drive at Panir Dam in Pulwama, South Kashmir. The distinguished groups of professionals have joined hands to address the deteriorating environmental conditions at the said Dam. Their passion for nature has fueled this initiative to restore the dam’s pristine state and create awareness about the importance of preserving our natural resources. Similarly, many other organisations and individuals, besides some initiatives from govt also play a key role in keeping our resources preserved. This all should not be limited to some events or occasions only, but should adopt a consistent way, so that our valley remains neat & clean and we remain fit and fine. Therefore, we all need to work individually to keep our surroundings free from filth, and should promote our health resorts with dignity.
(The author presently working as Media Coordinator at National Child Development Council has mailed this article to “Kashmir Horizon” for Publication in this newspaper. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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