So today again I am expressing my views based on a weekly prompt on #IndiSpire.

I remember that when I visited Dubai, we travelled to many nearby areas with my son there, who has become an expert in driving as per the ‘right hand driving’ system there. One more thing which he had to always keep in mind there was to observe the speed limits, since once he goes beyond that, the speed tracker cameras there would take a note and he would get an E-mail to deposit the fine, which is quite heavy. Further they can’t leave their washed cloths etc. to get dried on the balcony railings etc.

There are such penalties, speed governors on roads, cameras observing such lapses and a system in place which can punish instantly, so people have to remain alert and they can’t afford to go wrong.

In England also I observed that sometimes a long queue of traffic is formed when there is some problem on the road, but people wait with patience for the problem to get resolved, nobody tries to rush and overtake all others, if somebody does so, people look at him with a question in mind-“Has he just come from India or say Asia?”

I also remember that when I was trying to clear my throat, I was asked not to spit there since it might be observed by cameras there and we might have to face the consequences for doing that!

I was just thinking how happy going is our system in India, if we find some instruction written on some walls etc. here-“Do not do — here”, we find that the particular place is then exclusively used to do that prohibited activity only, may that be dumping of garbage or whatever!

So, whatever I write here can be taken like the above instruction only but I would like to invoke the civic sense of our people that we should care for our environment always. Our casual attitude has brought us to such a condition that in Delhi and NCR, specifically after Diwali, when there is fog, farmers burn the remains of their crops in the fields and there are crackers etc. on Diwali to add to all that! So the condition becomes so much grave, since this pollution in the air, added to the fog remains in the form of ‘smog’ on the earth surface for some days and it is very difficult to breathe. The air quality becomes so much bad these days.

We need to behave like responsible citizens at our places and when we go to some tourist place, there are local requirements also, depending on the climate and other things there. So we must follow the rules there and should not do anything, consume anything that goes against the requirements for maintaining a healthy environment there. It is quite understandable that when so many people arrive at a small place as tourists, it is required that they follow certain rules strictly, so that the environment does not get spoilt and the tourist spot which gives our local governments a lot of revenue and fame all over the world, does remain a point of attraction in all respects.

When we are at a place to enjoy the beauty of nature, what we should leave there for the people we meet should be sweet memories and not heaps of filth and bruises on the lovely nature there!

I definitely feel that as a responsible citizen and a good tourist, we must do everything possible to maintain the ecology and indigenousness of our tourist places, be it in the field of food, culture or anything as such.

So this is my submission on the subject- Are we deteriorating the ecology and indigenousness of cultures and food by not being adaptive enough when traveling to a particular place? #ResponsibleTravel.

Thanks for reading.
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