Environment
Pictures of ‘Amarnath Yatris’ urinating on the banks of Dal Lake go viral, draw flak on social media
Srinagar: Kashmiri netizens on Sunday reacted harshly against a picture showing a number of ‘Yatris’ urinating on the banks of Dal Lake. The picture has gone viral on social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A Srinagar based journalist, Fahad Shah tweeted, “This is what so called tourists or Yatris from mainland India, who bring so called economy, do to #Kashmir, the so called heaven!”
This is what so called tourists or Yatris from mainland India, who bring so called economy, do to #Kashmir, the so called heaven! pic.twitter.com/xnY4SFQ1ii
— Fahad Shah (@pzfahad) July 1, 2018
Mohammad Afaaq Sayeed posted the picture on his Facebook timeline with the comment, “Appavit’tritt’aa” being unloaded into Dal Pee’l of Kaashmir, before proceeding towards the “Pavitar Gupha”. Wait … There is seemingly an “Abla Naari” also doing her bit of nationalism besides a pavement behind the bus. (SIC)”
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Netizens observed that most the tourists were yatris who had arrived for the annual pilgrimage in Pahalgam. They were also critical of the locals blaming the tourists for their act when they were equally responsible for taking good care of the water body.
A valley based Journalist Daanish Bin Nabi captioned the picture as, “Yatris at Dal Lake.”
However, Maajid Aslam Wafai, in a reply, wrote, “Why there is hue and cry with some liters of urine of pilgrims in our world famous Dal lake. We have sending millions of liters of sewage into the dal. But ironically there is no hue and cry.”
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Basharat Ali, a Kashmiri scholar said, “Indian Tourists peeing at a “weed unloading point” on the bank of “world famous” Dal lake in Kashmir.” Seema Mustafa, a New Delhi based journalist, wrote, “So much (of) hype and basic arrangements for toilets.. A flagship of the Govt.. have not been made . Wow! And yes it’s true open defecation is a totally North Indian bimaru belt occurrence with the south also hesitant to follow suit.”
