When your wooden boat drifts lazily along the serene and still backwaters, and what you come across strewn on the sides of the meandering rivulets are plastic bottles, the charm of that emerald expanse is lost for a minute and disgust remains. Why would anyone want to throw anything, forget the rotten plastic in its various shapes and forms, in these mysterious streams and into the life-giving vegetation around it? Fear creeps in - have we reached a point of no return when it comes to our attitude about feeding nature our filthy refuse and expecting it to consume it all without becoming rotten itself? Or, is it idealistic to expect others of my kind to feel as I do about littering the planet? But then, this is not about not knowing where your household garbage lands up or tracing and minimizing your carbon footprint everyday - this is as simple as the thought that I could not possibly harm another living being, another life-system that every human must fall in love with at first sight.
And where is the community, the state, or is trashing every patch of green, blue, earth a less important agenda than doubling growth rates? If that green, blue, earth will not remain, what will we use to feed the industry, feed the people, who work overtime to feed those growth rates? Even the seemingly placid backwaters have great economic value - fruit and vegetable bearing plants, plants and trees with medicinal value constitute most of the vegetation found here. The tourists will pour in only as long as these places remain pleasing to the eye. With more plastic will come lesser revenue!
Sadly, practical long term planning and vision always seem to be lacking in any discourse about development in India. In Kerala the idea is to set up as many hotels, lodges, hostels as is possible, but in the long run if the ecology that lures the tourist is converted into a dumping ground, then these investments in tourism infrastructure will be in vain. I know there is a long way to go before this happens. There is still room for dumping, but will there be room and time to clean up in the future. Is there room for further delay in taking strict action regarding callous disposal of non-biodegradable materials and starting a massive clean-up and education drive? There have been such drives in many areas of the country in the past, but very little success has come of it. What more can concerned citizens - perhaps it is time we all start thinking about ideas and begin to innovate? Or, am I locked in an ideal state of mind? I know we can remain impervious forever. But those waters, those greens might not remain always placid.
