There are very few cities in the world as old as the city of Srinagar. The city established almost 2,000 years back has seen many historical epochs. It has withstood the ravages of time and witnessed many upheavals. Several times it was pillaged and ransacked but the city with its inhabitants has continued to be there. In the twenty first century with modernisation it should have become a model city. Unfortunately, the greed of the people and the apathy of its rulers have turned it into one of the dirtiest cities! How did Srinagar look a hundred years back? One can judge it from the description given in a travelogue called, “A lonely summer in Kashmir” written in 1904 by Margaret Cotter Morison. She describes life in Srinagar and its environs. “Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir and the only big town in the country, is a place full of life and picturesqueness, which captivates the visitor by its novelty and perpetually amuses him by the many quaint similarities to places seen before. With the polo-ground, tennis-courts, and smartly dressed ladies, one might think oneself in an ordinary Indian station; at the Residency garden-parties, where croquet is played on the softest of lawns, and strawberries and cream dispensed under cool spreading trees, any one would think himself at a country house in England; on the river above the town, where house-boats are crowded close together for over a mile, the sight recalls Henley a few days before the regatta; a row down the town where houses and temples line the banks, where gracefully carved wooden balconies overhang the water, where men and women loiter chattering on the steps, and half the population lives in boats, brings back faint memories of Venice. But a visit to the Dhal Lake, with its willow-lined water canals and unique floating gardens, or a stiff climb up the hill, called the Takht-i-Suleiman, to obtain a panoramic view of the city, so green in spring-time, with grass growing thickly on all the roofs; and lastly, the perpetual swarm of merchants round one's boat thrusting themselves and their goods in at the window repeating their never ceasing cry of :"Only see, lady, only see ; don't buy, Mem-sahib " these are suggestive of Srinagar, and only Srinagar, for their like is seen in no other part of the earth”.

The description of Srinagar given by Margaret Morison seems out of this world. Where has that City of the Sun gone? Totally eclipsed by the greed of the people and the apathy of the rulers! What does Srinagar of today look like? Mounds of stinking garbage strewn in every nook and corner. Dug up roads, overflowing drains, coverless manholes, and swarms of wild and vicious dogs prowling everywhere! The famous River Veth is like a sewer taking in sewerage from all the towns and villages on its banks. The view from the world renowned boulevard is more disheartening. One gets the stink of a dying water body. It is more so in hot weather. Lake is in its last throes of death. So far no one has been able to restore or even arrest its further deterioration. The reasons for these disasters are many. The first is the edifice of corruption on which the state runs. The departments concerned with the maintenance of the character of the city and keeping it clean are doing just the opposite. There is absolutely no accountability. There is a free for all atmosphere prevalent everywhere. One department is paving the roads and the other one is digging these up! There is no co-ordination. The only thing that makes things move is underhand money. Municipal Corporation, Urban Development Department, Public Health Engineering, Power Department, and so on ensure the upkeep of the VVIP and VIP areas. All civic facilities are to be provided here on top priority. Rest does not matter. Delhi too cannot escape the blame. The Union Urban Development Department has rated Srinagar as the 4th dirtiest city in India. They should not feel proud of it! They need to look within as to the causes of this calamity. They need to analyze the causes of this degradation. They have been pumping hundreds of crores into various projects and departments but they have never bothered to take to task the people for misappropriation of these funds nor have they held anyone responsible for the mess? Unfortunately, all these things get overlooked for the sake of the “National Interest!” The most that has been done is to express displeasure at the slow pace of implementation of various projects. It was rather the highest court of the country which pointed out that the State Government cannot get away from its primary responsibility by taking refuge under the uncertain situation of conflict. There does not appear an easy way out of this mess. The way things are going ahead we may soon reach the first position in the list of the dirtiest cities.

The most tragic part is the dichotomy between the people promoting Kashmir as the “Paradise on Earth” and ones supposed to upkeep it. The Tourism authorities are making tremendous efforts to attract visitors to Kashmir from all over the world in spite of numerous obstacles including adverse foreign travel advisories. Their untiring efforts get totally negated by the actions of all other departments connected with the upkeep of the city. Recently some international TV channels were showing the garbage dumps in the world famous City of the Sun. It may be advisable to first clean our backyard before going for a massive global sales promotion! This is more so when the present year has been declared as the “Visit Kashmir Year”. Ultimately, the Tourism Department itself may have to take up the cleaning of the city! If they do so, it will not only be a favour to incoming visitors but to the local residents also!