Careless tourists litter Keokradang
Pinaki Roy, back from Keokradang
Keokradang, arguably the highest peak in Bangladesh, has been inundated with rubbish left by visiting tourists. Recent times have seen an increase in the number of juice cans, cigarette packs and plastic bags along with other rubbish littered all over the area.Indigenous residents of the local Darjeeling Para, at the foot of the Keokradang claim that at least two or three tourist teams visit the Keokradang during winter season. Although hiking has been common for hundreds of years, the pollution has only become noticeable in the last four or five years. Enam Ul Haque, the convenor of 'Bangladesh Everest Team-1', has visited the peak four times. "In 1999, I visited the Keokradang for the first time. At that time, I did not see any garbage at the peak. But while visiting the peak in January this year, the increase in garbage was visible," he said. The development of ecotourism in the area does not seem to be an official concern. Zirshang Bom, a local primary school teacher, says, "It is good for us that so many tourists are coming here. Now locals are able to sell products they were unable to before." Keokradang has recently been at the centre of some controversy as some claim that another nearby peak, Tajindong, is actually the highest in the country.
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This pristine beauty of the road to Keokradang is now under threat from an increasing number of tourists who carelessly litter. Photo: Enam Ul haque |
