Visiting a temple is supposed to be a sacred and enlightening experience, but one visitor was faced with trash and disrespect during their trip to a holy site.
Surkanda Devi Temple is a Hindu temple in India that can be visited by hike or by trolley. As a managed religious and tourist destination, this place should be kept clean and beautiful. One visitor took to Reddit to share their less-than-positive experience: "Found out people [are] throwing trash even [though] there are [trash] bins every 50m."
Along with their post, they included three photos that appear to show rubbish — including water bottles and snack bags — on the side of the trails. One photo even appears to show the discarded sole of a shoe.
The original poster felt that in addition to simple respect, there should be firmer rules about maintaining the park and not littering. "Idiots can be tamed by rules," they added in the comments.
Littering and waste are problems all over the world. According to a 2024 post from EarthDay.org, over two billion metric tons of trash are discarded each year. With so much trash around the world, it's no surprise that not all of it ends up being disposed of properly.
One of the biggest issues with trash globally is how much ends up in our waterways. The United Nations Environment Programme has reported on waste in rivers, saying, "The amount of plastic - either microplastics or macroplastics or both - in rivers worldwide… range[s] from 31 kilo tons to 2.31 million tons per year."
As plastic breaks down in our environment, it creates tiny particles called microplastics that can leach into nearly every facet of our lives. Microplastics have been found in soil, food, and even human reproductive organs.
Many people in the comments were equally upset about the disrespect shown to this holy temple and the environment.
"Dude, I'm planning to make a group for weekly cleaning drives. Our beloved state is dying," wrote one person who is hoping to keep their own home tidy.
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Definitely 👍 Someone else explained how they have tried to tidy each time they've hiked: "Wherever I went I picked 5 trash bottles and put them in a nearby bin. Bottle menace is a huge problem."
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Another commenter shared their own experience at another site: "Went to Tungnath a month ago, was really saddened to see garbage along the trail."
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