Netizens slam tourists for driving SUV around lakes in Ladakh

While sharing this clip, @Daak_Saab wrote, “Shared by a fellow birder from #Ladakh… this stupidity is getting out of hand. This seemingly “barren” landscape is teeming with #life- and the short summer is when that life is at its peak. That too at a Ramsar Site! These idiots need to be named, shamed and booked!”.

Tso Kar and Tso Moriri lakes in Ladakh are listed as Ramsar sites. This means that the area around the lake should be conserved with minimum human interference.

This kind of nuisance must be checked. https://t.co/EVINK1qj9Y

— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) July 9, 2023

Commenting on this video, a Twitter user wrote, “Yikes! This is the worst one I’ve seen yet. Tso Kar is an extremely fragile Ramsar site with bird nesting, especially the Black-necked crane; among other mammal wildlife. It is also an important and the only pasture reserve for Samad Rokchen nomads in winters.”

Another person blamed the unchecked tourism in Ladakh and wrote, “When you promote tourism excessively in eco sensitive zones this is bound to happen”.

People also demanded that the government should have strict vigilance near eco-sensitive areas and enforce fines on offenders.

This is not the first time that a video like this has gone viral. In April 2022, a video of tourists driving a car through Pangong Pso Lake in Ladakh sparked outrage. The video also showed how a small table with alcohol bottles and food was set up on the lake’s shore.