Mustang Faces Waste Management Challenges Due to Increased Tourism

Mustang. Waste management has become a challenge in Mustang, a religious and touristy Himalayan district, recently.

The challenge has been added due to internal and external tourists visiting Muktinath not managing waste properly in designated places.

The arrival of Indian tourists has increased in the current year compared to the past year. Mohan Singh Lalchan, chairman of Gharpagjhoong Rural Municipality, said that due to Indian tourists, waste has increased indiscriminately here, making management difficult.

According to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), Jomsom office, about 10,000 Indian tourists visit Muktinath in Mustang daily. With the increase in visitors, the hustle and bustle of tourists on the highway and in surrounding hotels is encouraging.

Questions have started to arise about environmental beauty due to visitors indiscriminately discarding waste while bathing and indiscriminately dumping waste.