On the slopes of garbage

Many maintain that Munnar is one of the very few unspoilt hill resorts left in the country. Undoubtedly, it is. But let me assure you, it1...

Many maintain that Munnar is one of the very few unspoilt hill resorts left in the country. Undoubtedly, it is. But let me assure you, it8217;s not going to remain so for long. For perhaps no hill resort is as indifferent to its sanitation 8212; or rather lack of it 8212; as Munnar is.

Just the other day a tourist, an annual visitor, lamented, 8220;I8217;m afraid Munnar8217;s becoming synonymous with garbage. It8217;s everywhere!8221; Indeed, the town generates garbage faster than it can dispose of it. And, in any case, its garbage disposal system itself needs to be junked.

Sadly, domestic tourists and locals are the main offenders. They consider it their unassailable birthright to litter their surroundings and spit everywhere. Try to reason with them and they turn openly hostile.

I have often seen tourists thoughtlessly toss banana skins and other discards out of their vehicles while passing through the town. Football, a local passion, compounds matters further. The football ground, adjacent to the national highway, is invariably swamped with litter after a match. And although the town has been declared a plastic-free zone, the menace is everywhere, in every conceivable form 8212; toys, bottles, bags, disposable cups, plates. Here rules are made only to be flouted with impunity.

Adding to the unsanitary conditions is a stinking 8220;pay-and-use8221; toilet in the heart of the town. A pathetic apology for a public convenience and an eyesore, it8217;s located hardly ten metres from three popular roadside fast-food joints 8212; so much for town planning! Why pay to use a filthy toilet, locals ask, when the wide open spaces are waiting to be fertilised?

Another major source of pollution is Munnar8217;s 400-odd autorickshaws that spew toxic fumes as they sputter along fitfully, fuelled by a forbidden diesel-kerosene mix. Vehicular pollution control here is honoured more in the breach than in its observance.

Offal and refuse from butcheries and shops are blithely dumped into the polluted stream snaking sluggishly through the town. This, coupled with effluents from the congested market and riverside hotels and lodges, has blackened the water alarmingly, wiping out the once-plentiful carp, a fresh-water fish. Worse, occasionally the carcass of a dog or cat floats downstream 8212; where the water is used for domestic purposes. And, of course, cattle wander through the town at will, lavishly enriching its organic reserves.

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Once a role model for 8212; and the envy of 8212; other hill-stations, today Munnar8217;s degeneration is near total.