[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by vredesbyrd

I can't even remember how many times I have been bullied or nearly pushed off a cliff by local vehicles in HP and UK. It's not just the tourists. Nearly everyone is a bad driver in the hills/mountains.

That is surprising. I rarely have had a bad experience with local cars either in HP or UK and I've travelled extensively in UK. In HP my commutes have been limited to Shimla but even there locals are more considerate, give right of passage and generally do not hassle you up.
It is generally the tourists or cars from not-hilly regions which drive as if there is no tomorrow and litter recklessly.
And rarely there are bad drivers in mountains, 'cos of the simple fact that mountains are not forgiving to the bad drivers, for long.

[unknownartist01]

India is a land of many contrasts, some of the relevant ones -

a. We focus on making a lot of rules, we already have plenty of them. However, there's no focus on getting the existing ones implemented
b. Traffic police works overtime to make money off the minor offenders but in most places in northern India, I've seen them not having the guts to stop large, white SUVs fearing political backlash
c. There are a lot of traffic rules with hefty fines, but most RTOs don't care if the driver is even qualified before handing him/her the driving licence as long as everyone in the chain of command gets their share of bribe

I can't think this issue can be solved by just punishing these guys alone. Prevention of these incidents is more effective than the punishment after.

[vredesbyrd]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

That is surprising. I rarely have had a bad experience with local cars either in HP or UK and I've travelled extensively in UK. In HP my commutes have been limited to Shimla but even there locals are more considerate, give right of passage and generally do not hassle you up.

Well, pardon me sir.
I've had numerous close calls while I was well within both the speed limit and my lane. I give way to vehicles who honk too much and dangerously tailgate me (guess what, local plates). When they overtake, they give me a death stare. I'm not slow either that I end up holding the traffic but just about everyone drives like they are on the BIC for a trackday.

Of course, Shimla won't be much trouble as the traffic police does it's job pretty well and at the same time hooliganism can take place only if a car is moving and not stuck in a jam

[johy]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Reminds me of the nonsense that our Indian brethren did in Bhutan by climbing the chortens and getting selfies done. And then having our entire country banned from visiting.

Very disgusting. During my later trips to Bhutan, I saw groups of bikers making noise everywhere. They took up every seat in the restaurants (I had just got up to go to the counter), argued with the locals and created a ruckus. On the way up to Tiger's Nest, many of them were carrying Bluetooth speakers and blaring loud film music on them. Some of them were blaring bhajans - it did not help either!

I never saw this kind of behavior years earlier when accessibility to the remote areas were tough. I have been a hiker/trekker for may decades now, and I firmly believe that not all roads should be paved up. That is the only way the remote regions would remain pristine.

I remember my first few trips to Sandakphu. People were far and few in between - you would walk for hours before you met a soul. The road uphill was positively dangerous, so there were almost no vehicles. People who really wanted to experience the wilderness came there. Now the roads are paved and the places is bombarded with tourists. With their booze and loud Bluetooth speakers.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by unknownartist01

a. We focus on making a lot of rules, we already have plenty of them. However, there's no focus on getting the existing ones implemented
I can't think this issue can be solved by just punishing these guys alone. Prevention of these incidents is more effective than the punishment after.

+1

Whether it's littering, rash driving or anything else we don't want to encourage, these 2 things are key.

Instead every time something like this gets highlighted, we go into one of these 3 modes:

1. Punishment that exceeds the crime - bashing up people (or rather watching them getting bashed up) might be satisfying, but as a lawful society, there is a framework. Like with anything else, let's frame laws that suit the situation.

2. It's all hopeless, why bother - not it's not, start small. Start with messaging and then enforcement.

3. Locals vs 'outsiders' - You really can't generalize. I was stuck in a popular tourist spot during one of the several lockdowns last year. During that time a local business organized a cleanup drive of one of the areas. About 15-20 of us spent 4-5 hours picking up trash along a 2-3km stretch. Just 2 weeks later, there was trash again. During that time, no tourists were entering, there were no restaurants or hotels open, so where did the trash come from? I've gone on Himalayan treks where the guides sneer at tourists who "disrespect this holy mountain"...and promptly sit in groups spitting gutka or drinking on that very same holy mountain. Both locals and tourists break laws and do disgusting things. Literate, illiterate, rich, poor. Let's not use this to target whole groups of people, because it's a myth. That's why we need laws that are enforced irrespective of who is breaking them.

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by vredesbyrd

Well, pardon me sir.
I've had numerous close calls while I was well within both the speed limit and my lane. I give way to vehicles who honk too much and dangerously tailgate me (guess what, local plates). When they overtake, they give me a death stare. I'm not slow either that I end up holding the traffic but just about everyone drives like they are on the BIC for a trackday.

As an out-of-state car driver my experience with local taxi drivers both from J&K and Ladakh wasn't good as i posted in my travelogue. We almost had a big fight in J&K, and in Ladakh the driver ran us off the road for trying to overtake resulting in a big cut on my tyre. Honking or even trying to overtake them is a sin and how dare you even try.

[scorpian]

Simply ridiculous to see such behavior in such a beautiful place.

Off topic but i am from goa and the same happens here also. The amount of public that comes to goa with the mindset that what happens in goa stays in goa attitude that ruins the place.So many beautiful beaches ruined with littered beer bottles some broken to pierce innocent people walking.
Many of us have stopped going to beaches all together. We the increase of social media like Instagram places which were first isolated and off reach to tourists have sudden been plagued with people thronging the place and disturbing the peace and tranquility of the place.

We really need to start appreciating nature before its too late.

[manojsolanki87]

When i went to lakadh in 2016 on a motorcycle, I was so happy to see the place. Only the real seeker would battle such a tough terrain to reach the far off places.Now every famous place is connected with a cmwell acrpwted road.

In 2021, I did zanskar from Shinkula side and was so delighted to see the absence of mass tourism.When I connected to the LEH - SRINAGAR HIGHWAY after staying at padum, I could see the horde's of tourist doing what they do best - creating ruckus. Smoking hookah's on road sides and clicking selfies in middle of the road.
But they are also carpeting the road to the shinkula now. December 2021 was the deadline for this from darcha side. And my heart feels pain. Zanskar will never be same again. It will become like the leh circuit.
The only point I want to make here is that tourism brings money which is good for local economy, but it also brings along these kinds of problems.The only thing we can do is educate people regarding this.

[sunilg33]

The problem with our system is instead of punishing the rule-breakers it tames the rules followers.
A few more incidents like this and I am sure that the authorities will stop allowing tourists near the water.

Very similar to our traffic management by cops- Make way to the vehicle that is causing the traffic jam than punishing them.

[SN88]

How I wish the DSG had given up just as the car was in the water and the info screen lit up with christmas lights!!

[vj_torqueaddict]

Reminds me about the book Sapiens.
"The success of species should not be determined by the strength of its population."

Humans never cease to amaze. Attention seeking behaviour is crossing those blurred lines now thanks to social media.

[Trojan]

Very sad and yet usual behavior of people but the outrage though correct is selective. Ladakh is not the only eco-sensitive zone, it was saved all this while due to its remoteness, else would have soon become a Manali, Shimla etc.

And its not just restricted to driving but littering, dumping garbage, breaking bottles, playing loud music, cutting trees-bushes, etc. etc. etc.

One can find such behavior by dime a dozen on social media, in the garb of adventure, off-roading, trail riding and many more...you will come across scores of Photos and Videos.

Creating donuts on grassy patches, entering streams multiple times in spite of the streams/rivers not being in their driving line, but just to prove off-roading prowess, showboating or plain dumb ignorance.

Instead of sticking to marked trails, people venture 'off the beaten track', causing irreparable damage to the entire eco-system.

What we need is a set of stringent rules with severe implications, absence of which and the craze for Social Media glorification is a fast forward recipe for destroying all our natural beauty.

I have always wondered, why people unnecessarily off-road and the need to destroy forests in the garb of events. The amount of micro ecosystems around water bodies or deserts or any uninhabited place is crazy but sadly no one gives a damn.

Access to any such place of natural beauty is a sacred privilege and the sanctity of which should never be tampered with, but then what am I going to do with my latest vehicle!

[hortons15]

Unacceptable behavior at such a serene, protected location

[tatafanatic]

Funny Incident from Uniform Life
We were posted border side in the hills, the post was supposedly strategic and thus fell under our watch, wasn't a big post per say roughly 12 odd devils manned it with a lone sentry from the gurkha's. The adjacent road was open to civilian traffic and it led to a beautiful hill station crowded in the summer by city dwellers. Life at post was drudgery laden and food was horrible, albeit we were used to both so no points went for complaining, however one evening i return from HQ and got served the most amazing meal i ever had in a decade of my service till then, there was variety for change and every dish was unique. I marched in second in command and told him to give me the truth as something had definitely brewed in my absence!

His Explanation
Sir, the sentry came complaining in the morning that one car with college kids perhaps were continually driving up and down the road hurling abuses, they even threw beer can at him, then they stopped the car and one fellow took out a hockey stick and tried to provoke him. He complained to us, we rounded them, thought of you so we roughed them heavy and when we came to know they were catering college students we took them to the mess and got them cooking
Keep them till breakfast tomorrow and then send them off were my instructions, the next morning breakfast was most enjoyable meal we all had in a long time, as of the kids they were badly shaken but hopefully learned the lesson.

[AnishRanjan]

This is not news to me at all. Almost every tourist spot is littered with trash. The sad part is most of these tourists are the educated bunch who has money but no common sense. This points to a failed education system and society where the only thing being thought is money and materialism. Do we value nature or environment in this country, absolutely not. We think that by throwing garbage in pristine environments is absolutely ok. Most of the people have a notion it will magically disappear. They act with a sense of entailment and absolute impunity.

Cleanliness, littering, preserving the ecology and environment has to be taught right from an young age in schools and that is when as a society we will flourish and prosper. Right now we are heading down a dark path. We are failing this beautiful country and as a society we have failed.

It pains me every time i see litter and wonder when you can make the effort to buy it, can't you just take it back once its used and dispose it off properly. I just am lost for words for this foolish immature and ignorant behavior of people.