India Today : Jul 06, 2019, 02:59 PM
Over 10 lakh tourists left behind 2,000 tonnes of waste during their visit to Manali in May and June - the peak tourist season - The Times Of India reports. Most of the garbage consists of plastic waste and is disposed in Manali as a result of which the town generates almost 30 to 40 tonnes of waste every day during the peak tourist season.Garbage collected from the Rohtang Pass and Solang till Manali including hotels are disposed at a garbage treatment facility. Despite plastic waste being sent to a Barmana cement plant for "complete destruction," large amounts of waste are piling up - Manali as well as other parts of the district are clogged.In order to resolve the issue, civic bodies in Manali will work with a garbage power plant that has the capacity to burn 100 tonnes of waster every day, Narayan Singh Verma, Municipal Council Executive Officer, Manali, told The Times Of India. "It is expected to start working by next week," he said, adding that the plant will solve most of the problems as soon as it starts working."Manali generates 35 tonnes of waste every day during peak tourist season while it produces nearly 10 tonnes of garbage on the other days. Once the plant starts working, all our waste-related problems would be solved. We generate less waste as compared to consumption capacity of the plant," Narayan Singh Verma added.Manali and Kullu MCs have been directed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to treat the garbage issue appropriately, and ensure that no harm is caused to the Beas river and local environment.The Times Of India report also states that tourists visiting Manali and other adjoining areas tend to litter and apparently generate more waste as compared to the local population.