Wake up, wake up McLeod Ganj
by Viv

The air is crisp and fresh, there is not a cloud in the sky and visibility to the hills and mountains is unobstructed by mist, rain or smog – it reminds me of Tibet. Is this real?

The surrounding area, when disembarking the aeroplane appears unusually quiet, almost giving a surreal feeling, but in reality it is not, people are living their world of paid employment and for the rest, like myself, are passengers passing through this moment in time with their final destination on their minds.

To fill in the following hour before a connecting bus arrived, time was spent outside the Terminal building trying to familiarize with what was and has always been there, but not truly appreciated. Wow! Slowly reality set in. This is for real. This is a developed country with strong Western civilizational influence. Everything, literally everything, seemed spotlessly clean, just like the atmosphere; there was no rubbish/litter to be seen for as far as the eye could see. Quite clearly the inhabitants of this country appreciate the ambience and are endeavouring to keep it that way. Sitting there and in clear view, were FIVE (5) rubbish bins!

Credit and thank you must go to the authorities for their foresight and expense in establishing these small, yet useful, commodities so as to protect the environment and health of all who may pass by.

In essence the above is what was experienced on arrival at the local airport after spending 3 months in a wonderful place, namely McLeod Ganj.

Wake up, McLeod Ganj! People in the power, business operators and individual residents: You too live in paradise, and you too can create and establish an environment to the same standard as expressed above. This doesn’t mean sweeping out your territory onto the road, gutter or likes, it means picking it up and disposing it in an appropriate receptacle container for collection.

Hopefully I will be fortunate to return to McLeod Ganj, and it would be pleasing to see some progress has been made in this field of development.

Namaste and Tashi Delek to all, and thank you for a wonderful 3 months experience in your township!

< back | top ^