Agencies
Srinagar, July 4: A couple of photographs have gone viral showing some Amarnath pilgrims urinating in Liddar nallah of tourist resort Pahalgam of Kashmir Valley.
Locals have been expressing resentment and appealing concerned authorities to check this practice and initiate strict action against those who pollute water bodies.
Earlier a couple of photographs had also gone viral in which a couple of non-locals were seen urinating on the banks of Dal Lake. Even a video has gone viral on social networking sites facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp in which a local can be seen advising some non-locals not to urinate in open in green belt area of Srinagar city.
Senior Journalist, Yousuf Jameel on his Facebook wall posted, “The pictures showing a horde of Amarnath Pilgrims peeing on the banks of Dal Lake reveal the truth about the outreach of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. You need to change your mind set to change your behavior.”
A group of people from Pahalgam told CNS that the non-local pilgrims are always welcome in Valley, but they should not take undue advantage of Kashmir hospitality. “It is disgusting to see these non-local Yatris urinating in Liddar nallah of Pahalgam. If you will visit in Pahalgam you will see heaps of polythene bags thrown in open by these people. It is high time, concerned authorities particularly Shri Amarnath Shrine Board management make aware these Yatris about the implications of their actions,” they said.
The locals said that these Yatris who enjoy every kind of facility in Kashmir Valley have become habitual of polluting water bodies. “Please understand, we are not talking about religion but the mindset of some Yatris. Please, understand, these Yatris are welcome but they should take care of our fragile environment,” said a Nazir Ahmed adding that proper health and hygiene training should be given to the pilgrims to keep environment neat and clean.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
