Editorial: Seven Wonders Can’t Hide Basic Neglect
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Waste Kept in open sack few meters away from tree towards lakkar bazaar
Shimla July 19 Ritanjali Hastir
Shimla has always sold itself on more than just its cool climate. It is a city of heritage, winding roads, colonial architecture, towering deodars and iconic public spaces like the Ridge. Yet today, the city’s priorities appear increasingly skewed. While the Shimla Municipal Corporation seeks to boost tourism through eye-catching installations such as replicas of the Seven Wonders, it continues to overlook the very basics that define a world-class destination that is cleanliness, sanitation and civic management.
Near the famous Waiting Tree on the Ridge, one of the city’s most photographed landmarks, visitors are often confronted not by the charm of Shimla but by piles of horse dung and the persistent smell of urine. For thousands of tourists who walk this route every day, the experience is jarring. No amount of decorative infrastructure can mask the reality of poor sanitation.
Tourism is not built on monuments alone. It is built on the experience visitors carry home. A clean street, a hygienic public space, proper waste management and regular maintenance leave a far greater impression than replicas designed merely as photo opportunities. A city cannot claim to aspire to international standards while neglecting the fundamentals of urban governance.
The issue is not the presence of horses, which remain part of the Ridge’s character and livelihood for many. The issue is the absence of a systematic mechanism to manage animal waste, maintain hygiene and preserve the dignity of one of Shimla’s most visited public spaces. These are responsibilities that fall squarely on the civic administration.
Public money should first address essential services before funding cosmetic projects. Beautification without sanitation is little more than an illusion. Visitors may stop to photograph the Seven Wonders, but they will remember the smell that greeted them moments earlier.
Shimla deserves better. Its residents deserve better. And tourists deserve an experience that reflects the city’s natural beauty rather than its civic shortcomings. Before building symbols of the world’s greatest wonders, the Municipal Corporation must ensure that the city’s own iconic spaces are clean, welcoming and worthy of their reputation. After all, the greatest wonder for any tourist is not a replica—it is a city that takes pride in keeping its streets clean.
