by Imran Maqbool Wani / Irfan Hussain Mir
There are some places that make us stop and think. Kargil is one such place. During a recent visit, what caught our attention was not only the spectacular landscape, mountains and the beautiful Suru River, but also the visible efforts being made by local people and the administration to keep the town clean. This is not to suggest that Kargil is completely clean or that other cities are completely unclean. No city or town can claim 100 per cent cleanliness. This is simply an observation based on what we saw during our visit and an appreciation of a positive culture that deserves recognition. Compared with many larger and more crowded urban areas, including Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir, Kargil appears to have developed a stronger sense of collective responsibility towards cleanliness and the environment.
What makes the difference is not only the work of the Municipal Committee but also the participation of ordinary citizens. Every day, garbage collection vehicles move through different parts of Kargil, making announcements and informing residents and shopkeepers about garbage collection. One of the most encouraging things we observed was that shopkeepers and nearby residents actually come out and wait for the garbage collection vehicle. Instead of throwing waste on the roadside or in an open area, they keep it with them and hand it over to the collection team. This may look like a very small act, but it reflects something much larger: civic sense. In many places, people throw garbage on roadsides, vacant spaces, drains or riverbanks simply because it is convenient. Sometimes waste is thrown only a few metres away from an existing collection point. The problem, therefore, is not always the absence of municipal services; it is also the absence of responsible behaviour among citizens. In Kargil, we repeatedly observed people making an effort to use the available system properly.
At times, we even noticed people waiting for several minutes on the roadside for the garbage collection vehicle rather than simply throwing their waste somewhere nearby. Such behaviour demonstrates an understanding that public cleanliness is not somebody else’s responsibility. It is a shared responsibility. A municipal committee can provide collection services, sanitation workers can collect waste and the administration can frame rules, but the system can work effectively only when citizens cooperate with it. Kargil seems to be demonstrating this important connection between municipal services and community participation.
One of the most memorable experiences during our visit happened while we were having breakfast near the banks of the Suru River. We noticed a person collecting trash from the riverbank. Curious about his work, we asked him whether he was being paid for cleaning the area. His response was simple and deeply meaningful. He said that he was not doing it for payment; he was doing it because the place is being visited by tourists. His concern was that if the area was not kept clean, people would stop coming. His simple question, “If we do not keep it clean, then who will? reflects a strong sense of ownership towards the environment and the place where he lives.
A shopkeeper we spoke to expressed a similar view. He explained that if the town and its surroundings became polluted, tourists would naturally be less interested in visiting. Tourism is an important source of livelihood for many people, but his concern was not limited to economic benefit. He considered keeping the surroundings clean a moral responsibility towards the community and the land. These conversations made it clear that for many local people, cleanliness is increasingly being understood not merely as a government programme but as a responsibility that belongs to everyone.
This sense of responsibility is particularly important in a place like Kargil, where the natural environment is one of its greatest assets. The mountains, rivers, valleys and landscapes are not simply tourist attractions; they are part of the ecological and cultural identity of the region. Protecting them therefore requires more than municipal action. It requires responsible behaviour from residents as well as visitors. While appreciating the efforts of the local community, we must also recognise that tourists and visitors have an equally important moral responsibility. When we travel to beautiful places, we should not leave our waste behind. Plastic bottles, food packets, disposable plates, wrappers and other waste should never be thrown into rivers, streams, mountains, open spaces or along roadsides.
Unfortunately, during our journey we also observed some visitors throwing waste on side roads and near water bodies. Such behaviour is deeply concerning because visitors come to enjoy the beauty of these places but sometimes leave behind something that damages that very beauty. A river is not a dustbin, a mountain is not a dumping ground, and a roadside is not a place to dispose of household or travel waste. If we expect local communities to maintain clean destinations, we must also ask ourselves whether we are contributing to their efforts or making their work more difficult. Environmental responsibility does not stop at the boundary of our homes or cities. It should travel with us wherever we go.
There is an important lesson here for all of us. We often complain that tourist destinations are becoming polluted, that rivers are full of plastic and that roadsides are becoming dumping grounds. But the question we need to ask is: who is creating this waste? Governments and municipal bodies certainly have a responsibility to provide infrastructure, collection systems and enforcement, but citizens and visitors also have a responsibility to behave responsibly. Cleanliness cannot be achieved simply by placing more dustbins or deploying more sanitation workers. It requires a change in everyday behaviour.
Kargil is certainly not perfect. There are still areas where waste management can be improved, waste segregation can be strengthened, plastic use can be reduced and public sanitation infrastructure can be developed further. The town cannot be described as completely clean, and there is certainly scope for further improvement. However, based on our observations, the overall level of cleanliness in many areas was encouraging. More importantly, what stood out was the willingness of local people to participate, cooperate with the administration and take responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean. This positive culture of collective responsibility deserves appreciation, not as a criticism of other places, but as an example of how community participation can contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment.
It is also important to understand that comparing Kargil directly with Srinagar is not entirely fair. Srinagar is a much larger and more densely populated city, with greater traffic, commercial activity, population pressure and complex waste-management challenges. The two places operate at very different scales. However, the underlying principle is the same everywhere: a clean city cannot be created by government agencies alone. It requires people to take ownership of their surroundings.
This is perhaps where larger cities can learn from the experience of Kargil. Municipal bodies can strengthen door-to-door collection, but citizens must hand over their waste responsibly. Authorities can place dustbins, but people must actually use them. Awareness campaigns can be organised, but awareness has to translate into daily behaviour. Rules can be introduced, but people need to follow them even when nobody is watching. The real measure of civic sense is not what we do when someone is observing us, but what we do when nobody is there to stop us.
The same principle applies to visitors. When travelling, we should carry our waste until we find an appropriate disposal facility rather than throwing it on the roadside. We should avoid single-use plastic wherever possible, respect water bodies and natural landscapes, and leave tourist destinations as clean asor cleaner than we found them. We cannot expect a place to remain beautiful if our behaviour continuously adds to its pollution. Respecting the environment should be part of responsible tourism, and responsible tourism should begin with individual responsibility.
The experience of Kargil therefore offers a broader lesson about civic behaviour. Cleanliness is not simply about removing garbage after it has been thrown. It is about preventing litter in the first place. It is about creating a social culture in which people feel uncomfortable throwing waste in public places and feel responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of their surroundings. When a shopkeeper thinks about the cleanliness of the street outside his shop, when a resident waits for the garbage collection vehicle, when an individual voluntarily cleans a riverbank and when visitors consciously carry their waste instead of throwing it away, a community begins to develop a culture of environmental responsibility.
Perhaps the most powerful lesson from Kargil is the simple question we heard from a local resident: “If we don’t take care of it, then who will?” This question should not be limited to Kargil. It should be asked in Srinagar, in every town and village, at every tourist destination and by every visitor. Our rivers, roads, mountains, parks and public spaces belong to all of us. Protecting them is not only the responsibility of the administration or sanitation workers; it is a civic duty and, above all, a moral responsibility.
Kargil may still have a long way to go, but the collective efforts of its people and administration deserve appreciation. Its experience shows that when community participation supports government services, meaningful change becomes possible. Perhaps the goal should not be to ask which city is cleaner than another, but to learn from places where positive practices are emerging and adapt those lessons to our own communities.
Ultimately, government alone does not make a clean city. It is made when people begin to believe that the streets they walk on, the rivers they visit, the markets where they work and the land they call home are their own and therefore worth protecting.
Author can be Reached at waniimran169@gmail.com
