I recently visited Doodhpathri, a picturesque town in central Kashmir, about 45 km from Srinagar. The tourist place is located in the Budgam district of Kashmir.

I was aghast to see litter everywhere. Visitors have ruined the place. This beautiful place has been turned into a garbage dump with trash all around.

Empty packets of chips and trash cans and bottles of beverages can be seen thrown all around.

The mindset is such that the visitors think that since they visited the place they are done with it and now let the others not enjoy the beauty of the nature.

The authorities are equally responsible. I didn't find any dustbin near the stream flowing from the mountains.

With extreme heat wave conditions in many parts of the country this summer, Kashmir is witnessing a huge rush of tourists this time.

Not only Doodhpathri, other beautiful places in the valley have equally been ruined by the people.

It is high time the authorities act and prevent these tourist attractions from becoming garbage dumping grounds.

The first and foremost is to install dustbins in large numbers at such places. Secondly, those who litter should be fined for that. Repeat offenders should be accordingly penalised.

Schools, colleges and universities should emphasise on civic sense and keeping the environment clean.

At least I can say that the Prime Minister's swachhta abhiyan (cleanliness programme) has gone for a toss in the Kashmir valley. He would for sure be at pain to see the amount of trash lying in these tourist destinations.

It is everyone's responsibility to protect the environment for our future generations. As it is, the Kashmir valley is feeling the brunt of the climate change given that many residents have installed air conditioners in their offices and homes, something unheard of till recently.

Cutting of trees is also rampant in Kashmir. Urbanisation in the name of development is fine but it shouldn't be at the cost of our environment.

Due to this, the valley had been witnessing severe rainfall and extreme hot weather conditions in the past few years.

We all need to act together and act fast to save our Kashmir.