A video from the road to Mussoorie has caught attention online after a founder confronted a group of tourists for allegedly throwing plastic waste out of a moving taxi. The clip was shared on Instagram by Anoop Nautiyal, who said he noticed the passengers in the vehicle ahead throwing a plastic cup and spoon out of the window.
(Also read: Vlogger confronts man for throwing garbage outside Delhi Metro station: ‘Ye dustbin nahi hai yaar’)
In the video, Nautiyal is seen sitting inside a car while another person films the incident. The person recording the clip says, “Yeh inhone pheka tha gaadi mein se glass aur chammach plastic ka” (They threw this plastic cup and spoon from the car).
Nautiyal then steps out of the car and walks towards the taxi to return the waste. Before doing so, he says, “Aise nahi phekna chahiye. Kabhi bhi nahi phekna chahiye. Ab aawaz aise pahado mein aayegi... ab nahi phekenge yeh log” (One should not throw things like this. Never ever. Now this voice will echo in these hills... these people will not litter again).
‘Please do not do this in Uttarakhand’
After returning to his car, the person filming asks him, “Accept kari unhone apni galti?” (Did they accept their mistake?).
{{/usCountry}}After returning to his car, the person filming asks him, “Accept kari unhone apni galti?” (Did they accept their mistake?).
{{/usCountry}}Nautiyal replies, “Haan, unhone apni galti maani. Maine kaha ki Uttarakhand mein please aisa mat kariye” (Yes, they accepted their mistake. I told them, please do not do this in Uttarakhand).
The person recording then says, “Bahut accha kiya aapne” (You did a very good thing).
Nautiyal, however, explains that he did not want to embarrass the tourists further. “Nahi, poocha nahi maine unse... kya poochna. Kisi ko kya sharminda karna. Wo galat hai aise bhai, kahin se bhi aa rahe hain, aap toh padhe likhe log hain aur... baat Uttarakhand ki nahi hai, yeh toh kahin par bhi is tareeke se aise aapko chalti gaadi se thodi aapko aise waste phekna chahiye. Yeh toh kitne... dukh ki baat hai yeh, haina?” (No, I did not question them further... what is there to ask. Why embarrass someone unnecessarily? It is wrong, brother, no matter where you come from. You are educated people after all... and this is not just about Uttarakhand, you should not throw waste from a moving car anywhere like this. It is such a sad thing, isn’t it?) he says in the clip.
When asked about the person who threw the waste, he says, “Wo middle... matlab 40-45 saal ki mahila thi. Toh thoda sharminda hueen, lekin ab jo galat hai so galat hai” (She was a middle aged woman around 40 to 45 years old. She felt a little embarrassed, but what is wrong is wrong).
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Nautiyal shared the clip with a caption that read, “While travelling to Mussoorie today, I noticed tourists in the taxi ahead of me throwing their trash out of the window. I calmly approached them and returned their plastic waste. I also requested a female tourist to avoid doing this in the future. Let’s keep Uttarakhand clean, keep our country clean, and never litter in public places.”
Watch the clip here:
Internet praises calm response
The video drew several reactions online. One user wrote, “This is the kind of civic sense we need in every tourist place.” Another said, “He handled it so calmly and respectfully.” A third commented, “People need to understand that hills are not dustbins.” Another reaction read, “Educated people behaving like this is really sad.” One user added, “Returning the waste was the best response.” Another said, “More people should speak up instead of ignoring such things.”
HT.com has reached out to the user for his comments, and the copy will be updated once his response is received.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)