Enjoyment with care

A.M. Khan

Chitral is blessed with nature’s benefactions. Every season is replete with the picturesque beauty. We as consumers more often than not proved to be least careful about what we have and their importance. What we also needed to adopt is to consume the endowed priceless natural resources sustainably and with care.

Almost all the people of Chitral are set to attend the annual festival  being celebrated at Qaqlasht plateau. The plentiful rainfall in March and April has perfectly set the stage for the festival this year. After winters, this festival happens to be a favorite occasion for the people to entertain, play, enjoy games and beauty of nature. 

Any group arrives at Qaqlasht either for daylong trip or a night stay collects as much as it can afford to drink and eat. Indeed, none has any problem with anything bringing with them, other than anything prohibited, to the venue. The mess is created when we toss everything into the plain instantly as what we eat or drink while walking or sitting an enchanting place. 

The festival has informally started from the day of Eid, and people are visiting it with friends and families. Every group, except few conscientious folks, leave their level of rubbish behind in the field, and it continues to pile up until the festival ends that vast plain looks like a dumping ground of disposals. Since this matter is often highlighted but least attention is given to it. 

Many understand it well but few act on it. An individual by himself or in a group does contribute to combat wastes limitation in the field makes wonder. The story starts with the collection of disposals by an individual or group and it ends with the proper dumping of them. 

Beyond individual level, there is institutional response to waste management remains to be more contributing to it. There are many civil society organizations and public works departments could jointly combat this challenge effectively.

The initiatives include but not limited to to start an effective awareness campaign before and during the event about wastes and their proper disposal, hanging banners in some important locations with powerful messages, installation of dustbins in different places and spots, deputing volunteers and employees during event, making hotel and business settings bound to collect their refuse and disposed them off every day at night, using official social media pages of main stakeholders about limiting litters, organizing session about protecting environment and clean picturesque spots during the event, intermittently making announcements to clean environment and their surroundings, contacting and engaging those who are engaged in recyclables collection business.

Other than civil society gathers in qaqlasht, the main stakeholders of the festive are qaqlasht organizing committee, district administration, tehsil municipal administration, and civil society organizations, collaborating in the event, must have their workable strategies to limit wastes during the event. The concerned departments and organizations along the people attending the event should contribute to keep the environment clean and the nature green, and send the message to the world that we believe in enjoyment with care.

“You were made for enjoyment, and the world was filled with things which you will enjoy. Unless you are too proud to be pleased with them, or too grasping to care for what you cannot turn to other account than mere delight. Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless…” John Ruskin.