Take a Pause – Plan for Sustainable Tourism

Poonch, the border district of Jammu and Kashmir, is slowly gaining popularity as a tourist destination. Known to some for its pristine beauty, this place is endowed with natural resources. The tourism department has been continuously promoting several hidden gems of the regions, attracting tourists from all over the country. But what we really need here is take a pause and learn from the current situation of other famous tourist destinations. Shimla, Manali, Gulmarg, Leh and many more hill destinations are struggling hard to retain their natural ecosystem as negative impacts of unsustainable tourism has started showing up.

In Poonch, with increasing number of tourists, comes the serious challenge of improper waste disposal, affecting its natural environment. Makhdoomia Park in Mandi Tehsil, about 22 km away from Poonch and 4 km away from the Tehsil headquarters, is a growing tourist destination. With Saujiyan river flowing alongside the park, tourists flock in large numbers, especially during the summer, leaving behind tonnes of garbage in the river.
Worried about the increasing solid waste pollution, Riyaz Ahmed, the caretaker of the park, voluntarily arranged a dustbin as none had been installed so far by the concerned authorities. “Even though I have arranged a temporary dustbin, it is not enough. I try my best to stop the visitors from throwing waste into the river, but they just litter over and over again.” he said.

The inhabitants of this mountainous region are conscious of their surroundings and respect the natural resources but with growing tourism, most places can be seen dumped with waste. Farooq Ahmed, a local from the region and a part of the Rohit Memorial Society – an organization that works for social welfare, says, “The park is known for its beauty, but what bothers me is that tourists throw garbage in the river adjacent to the park threatening its ecosystem and deteriorating the quality of the water.”

The lack of sensitivity and human ignorance can cause irreparable damage to such destinations. Without any strict measures, the damage can be even worse. Tanveer Ahmed, the Chief Tourism Officer of Poonch, informed that every effort is being made to keep the tourist places litter-free. However, he stressed that the ignorance of people is the biggest problem affecting the environment regardless of the measures taken. “Despite the ban on polythene, people still use it extensively and dump it anywhere,” he lamented. According to him, strict measures to deal with irresponsible tourism will be taken in the coming days. He ensured that dustbins would be installed in Makhdoomia Park soon.

Syed Tanveer Bukhari, another local from the region, firmly believes contaminating the water bodies badly affects those who fetch drinking water from them. “Every person should take the responsibility of conserving it. There is a need to awaken ourselves before it’s too late,” he expressed. 

Tourism is indeed creating job opportunities in the valley, but at the cost of the environment and water bodies. Responsible tourism is the need of the hour, and at the same time, the administration should take stringent measures to ensure it. It is high time all the stakeholders involved in tourism should take responsibility for their own actions. Although tourists have the potential to contribute to the economy, they can equally damage the environment and natural assets without any sustainable planning. 

Last year, on the occasion of World Tourism Day, the Government of India had planned to launch several initiatives to make people aware of sustainable tourism. One of the initiatives was the launch of Responsible Traveller Guideline, designed by the Responsible Tourism Society of India (RTSOI) to inculcate the ethics of responsible tourism. Hopefully, this positive step will have some impact and will help reduce the exploitation of the environment.

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