TURA: Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, one of the few tourist spots in Garo Hills, is allegedly in a shambles thanks to the carelessness of visitors who leave behind trash they bring with them.
On Tuesday, 74 scouts and guides belonging to the Bharat Scouts and Guides who undertook a trek to the popular spot as part of its annual trekking cum environmental study and adventure were dismayed to find litter left behind throughout the trek.
The irony is that the objective of the trek was to highlight the importance of preserving the green forest cover surrounding human habitats, to prevent climate change and global warming and minimise the effects of deforestation which leads to decrease in rainfall.
“We are happy that we were able to organise this programme for the children. But the sad thing is that we saw a lot of plastic food packets and broken liquor bottles left behind by visitors all along the way. Nokrek Biosphere Reserve is among the few tourist destinations in Garo Hills and this should not be happening. I hope visitors are more careful in future,” secretary of Bharat Scouts and Guides, Lenin R Marak said.
The trekking team which included Rovers and Rangers also cleaned up the litter they found.