A video of an international tourist struggling to dispose of her trash while staying at an Airbnb in India has triggered a heated debate on social media on the apparent lack of civic sense and proper waste management systems in the country.
In the now-viral clip, the woman, who has not yet been identified, complains of not having a dustbin around to throw her garbage. She is seen walking out of a high-rise carrying bags of trash and asking the building's security guard where she could dispose of them. On camera, the guard asks her to fling it over the boundary wall. When the tourist refuses to do so, the guard takes the bags from her and flings them over the wall himself.
While the video questioned the civic sense among Indians, with several international X users blaming the country's faulty waste management systems, it also raised questions on whether the video was staged, as a user pointed out that the security guard was asked to throw the garbage over the wall for the video. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the video.
The viral video also unleashed a wave of international criticism over the country’s sanitation standards, with many users pointing to the lack of cleanliness as a pressing concern.
"India's biggest tourist attraction is the Taj Mahal. Use Google Maps to check the area around the side and back of that area. As soon as you go off trail even a little it's just trash and poop as far as the eye can see," X user Klara commented. "I'd agree that individually Indians tend to be better than collectively but not as much if you're on their territory. Even here, if I go into a store owned by an Indian they're generally much worse," she added.
"Get on google earth and street view India. If you can find anywhere in India where you can do a 360° turn and not see trash on the ground, I’ll give you a dollar," wrote another user, Yung Wook Jeezy (@yungwookjeezy).
Some users thought the video was staged.
"Clearly a staged video, and congrats on your engagement farming. If this is really true, share the Airbnb listing and the public review you left for this property. I bet you can’t," commented Reva
(@VamossssRafa).
A few others acknowledged the garbage problem in the country and the civic apathy towards it.
"Thanks for exposing India internationally. Only this kind of constructive criticism will bring in the political will to make India clean," wrote Amit Huen (@ag25121993).
Incidentally, in July, a video capturing garbage and sewage near the Taj Mahal, filmed by Polish tourists, went viral and sparked another online debate. The visuals show garbage piles and sewage near the Yamuna River, right behind the Taj Mahal.
Shared on Instagram by content creator @podroznikdowynajecia, the video shows the group walking through an area filled with trash and open sewage structures located close to the rear side of the Taj Mahal. One of the tourists is seen covering her nose due to the stink, while another is heard saying, “What do we have here? The real India. It stinks terribly. It stinks worse than Chennai. Here we have a carcass and a beautiful sunset bouncing off the garbage."
Recently, several prominent business figures have been vocal about highlighting the problem of garbage disposal and management across several major cities in India. Biocon founder and chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and former Infosys CTO Mohandas Pai have been demanding accountability and better services from the civic bodies in Bengaluru, while author and businessman Suhel Seth has been asking the same from the authorities in Gurgaon.
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