By Deep Chengappa
Coorg(Kodagu) is blessed with natures bounty, bestowed by Mother Nature. As soon as you leave Kushalnagar and move farther up to the hills, the view of hill ranges, plantations and patches of forest greet the visitor. Surely a sight to behold. Just glance a bit down towards the sides of the roads and one will suffer EYESORE in no time. Plastic water bottles, beer cans, whiskey bottles, plastic covers, sachets of Chips and whatnot all strewn across the roadside. All brands are equally represented in this litter pile, some notable ones include – Bisleri, Kinley, Coorg Neer, Kingfisher, Bindu, etc.
Some brands lie dead next to the road, others are found hanging in the bushes or hedges bordering the plantations. The maximum I have noticed are empty plastic water bottles.
What went wrong ?
This roadside litter scene was not what greeted a visitor in the 90’s. Then Coorg was just a sleepy agrarian paradise. Due to its proximity to Bangalore, soon the young IT crowd discovered Coorg. In no time, Coorg was on the tourist map and gave Ooty a good run for the money. Tourism allowed the small coffee planters to capitalize on the hoards of tourists rushing into Coorg. Budget Hotels were hardly any in the 90s and those shady lodges in Madikeri were not upto the mark for those willing to shell Rs 2000 or 3000 per night for stay, so many homestays cropped up. Homestays were limited to the estates around towns of Coorg. The demand for rooms was some much that in no time homestays also cropped up in the district headquarters – Madikeri. Now they are dime a dozen, be it city or countryside. The worst category are the day trippers who come in overcrowded TT’s and buses, do not spend any money in Coorg and to add insult to injury litter the place and depart.
The homestay boom did not go unnoticed. Soon more budget hotels opened. Entrepreneurs with deep pockets came in for their share and opened 5 Star properties. And it seems more are on the cards.
There are many in Coorg who despise tourists and would love to have a blanket ban imposed. Their dream will not come true. Tourism is here to stay.
What can be done ?
In 2019, Ooty(Nilgiris) banned all single-use plastic. The then DC of Ooty – Supriya Sahu was instrumental in enforcing the same. Tourists are stopped at check-posts and checked and if plastic is found on them, they are asked to dump it in the garbage cans kept nearby and then only are allowed to enter Nilgiris. Compare Ooty’s roadside to Coorg’s. Ooty wins hands down. Some enforcement issues are being faced, but the fight goes on in Ooty. The official district website of Nilgiris also proudly provides information on steps taken by them to curb the menace of plastic in their district.
Our district administration, elected representatives and residents of Coorg(especially those with homestays) can learn from such measures, and work together to make Coorg litter free.
Ideas to curb this menace are most welcome and comments are free. Please do pitch in with your thought or if you would like to contribute posts to CLN, you are welcome.
Kodagu known for its tourist attractions has definitely lost his charm because of the garbage menace. Tourists who hope to enjoy the greenery of the area ,reside at home stays and throw the plastic and water bottles besides the roads. The periphery of the reserve forest is lined up with the bottles. Tourists who visit the district should enjoy the nature rather than disturbing the flora and fauna in the region.
We had a 21 km plog and cleanup at coorg and it was reasonably Cleaner. We do weekend plogs and cleanups regularly ar Bangalore.
Would be keen to pitch in
All Government officials only focus, on ‘how much can I make’ from this scheme. In a clean Coorg scheme the officer has little profit.
The locals have to take it upon themselves, sometimes enforcement is a law and order issue, without the involvement of the officialdom in particular the local police, which has recently seen a high raise in outside recruitment,
the new outsider local policemen, have no love or care for the people, land or culture.
The result, apathy.
The weekends have turned into a nightmare for the local population. Managing the traffic, the unruly tourists and the garbage has fully stretched the local administration. The good Samaritans take initiative to clear the garbage, once in a while, but it is a futile attempt. Decision, however harsh, has to be taken at the highest level
I am a digital media photographer specializing in the use of drones for special outdoor activities and landscape. Having grown up over the years in Kodagu it is sad to see the uncontrolled and irresponsible garbage found everywhere. There should be stiff fines.
The same people behave like good cultured citizens when they go to countries like Singapore.
At the end of the day – CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS. Kodagu is a most sacred landscape and it would be nice to see everyone respecting the need to keep our environment clean.
Thanks for publishing such meaningful articles.
It’s sad to say that Mother Nature is not preserved for future generation. All homestays to be registered locally and Home stays may consider implementing special charges to raise awareness about plastic bottle usage among guests and have a condition implied before their booking. Cameras to be installed to capture the vehicle which has littered the place and put heavy penalty
The locals should change their mindset on plastic usage.
Each person who goes shopping should carry shopping bags/baskets. Always carry foldable bags and own Water containers while starting out.
Make it a habit and even leave these in the vehicles. Then it becomes second nature.
Refuse to use plastic bags/ bottles even when offered by shop keepers and traders.
Authority should strictly ban import of single use plastic from other districts as well as its usage .
Encourage usage of eco friendly packaging materials and also disposable cups, plates,cutlery and also cartons for take away items made of ecofriendly
materials. With wide spread usage these become cheaper too.
And yes senstize locals as well as tourists about usage of Waste bins
Strict ban on entry of single use bottles/ covers Packets in luggage at district entry points
And last but not least segregation of various kinds of plastic and hazardous waste by individuals and a MONETARY INCENTIVE perhaps, per KG weight of specific type of waste
(if segregated )and handed over to village/ Town Panchayat . The Panchayat, ofcourse should have a Tie up with Waste recyclers/ contractors
Well there’s nothing wrong in copying something which has worked wonders elsewhere. I mean if the single use plastic ban has worked wonfers for OOTY WHY NOT TRY IT OUT IN KODAGU.
The next important and also a tough thing would be to contain tourists depending on the carrying capacity of the district. Infact many towns in kodagu are suffering without potable water during summer and summer is also the peak tourist time. So the administration should think of ideas to incentivise responsible tourism, by charging a HIGHER TOLL FROM TOURISTS COMING INTO THE DISTRICT ON WEEKENDS SO THAT OVERCROWING IS AVOIDED. Weekday tourists could be charged lesser toll and SINGLE USE PLASTICS SHOULD BE BANNED TOTALLY
If I am right , in Sikkim you can’t take plastic bottles.
This has to be mentioned.. it may be difficult as there’s
Interstate highways going through Coorg.
We need to put some bill boards Not to litter.
Discuss with DC and bring a law in Coorg.. if caught
for littering a fine of 5000…
Get the children in schools to educate the I’ll effects of littering and give importance of Swatch Bharath Abiyan
The blame cannot be placed only on the tourists. Us locals which include the district administration should also ensure we take necessary steps to manage waste at each town. Every panchayat should take the responsibility of ensuring garbage isn’t disposed of unscientifically and instead disposed of in landfills or incenerators
I heard plastic is ban in Coorg. Still we can see people carrying plastic. Good idea is to create awareness, also if possible should display board in each home stay and resorts, inspection should be done meanwhile and impose fine who doesn’t follow the rules then we can see changes.
Sad to see Coorg – The Scotland Of India like Dumping yard of India, Can we have the hospitality stake holders ( Luxury hotels, Boutique Hotels, Homestays, Restaurants) who invite guests to take care of Coorg Nature???