Visitors turn Sendra into dumping site !
Source: The Sangai Express

Moirang, July 08 2025: Sendra, a popular tourist destination in Bishnupur district has been sadly turned into a dumping ground thanks to visitors who love the Loktak but think very little of its pristine ecosystem! With vast water filled with blooming lotuses extending on either side, the road leading to the Sendra view point is a favourite spot for visitors.

Visitors taking a stroll and enjoying food from the roadside fast food stalls are a common sight, especially in the evening.

However, sadly, the stretch leading up to the Sendra Viewpoint and surrounding areas have become dumping grounds for many visitors.

Visitors turn Sendra into dumping site !

The roads in the area including the one leading to Omba Nurathel Garden are littered with plastic wastes, which falls into the Loktak and harms the lake's delicate ecosystem.

Around 1000 tourists visit Sendra daily, and most of them throw plastics and other wastes they generate anywhere they see fit.

It is the local visitors and picnic goers who mostly litter and make Sendra and the Loktak Lake ugly, said locals.

"There is a strong need for an intense awareness campaign that would teach and promote Responsible Tourism," said a local, who often takes part in social services organised to clean roads around Sendra.

There are mounds of plastic waste lying everywhere.

While plastic bottles often get collected for recycling purposes, all the non-recyclable waste are left behind, said the man.

The food-stalls, restaurants and shops around Sendra have dustbins installed, but the sheer amount of waste generated daily overwhelms the capacity, he said.

"There are dustbins, but most of the time, people prefer throwing plastic bottles and waste on the ground and sometimes into the Lake when no one is looking.

It is unfortunate but true," said another man.

Sendra Youth Club, Loktak Lake Tourism Development Co-operative Society Ltd, other organisations in the surrounding area often organise social services to clean Sendra and the surrounding area.

However, this has not been enough to keep the tourist destination clean and tidy, he said.

A local woman asserted that a proper waste management plant and proper system to collect and dispose of the waste would help Sendra keep the Loktak and the surrounding areas clean.

There is no waste management plant or a disposal site at Sendra.

For the time being, the only option available is to collect the waste and gather it in a designated place, which is not a proper disposal site.

This is also a problem when the waste gathered is not taken away for disposal on time, she added.

Keeping Sendra and the Loktak Lake clean is not a very difficult task if people take it as their responsibility seriously, asserted a local man in his 40s."The responsibility and the rule to be followed is very simple.

Don't throw waste into the Lake and anywhere else but the dustbins installed at many locations," said the man.

"If you don't find any suitable place or dustbins to throw the plastic waste you generate, then simply carry it away with you to your home where you can dispose it responsibly," added the man.

While littering in and around Sendra makes the tourist destination ugly, it also pollutes the lake and harms the various flora and fauna in its ecosystem, said the man.

"The lake is our shared treasure, and it should be treated as such.

You should treat Sendra as you would your home," added the man.