It is ‘Holland Scunonmak’ (Dutch cleaning) in Kashmir as the 69 -year -old woman from the Netherlands has made a mission to clean the water of the famous tourist attraction of plastic waste.
Armed with your love for nature, Ellis Hubertina Spanderman can often be seen crying in the lake water to collect plastic waste and other garbage silently crying her boat.
She picks up the garbage items one by one with water one by one and puts them in a bag on her boat to clean the inch inch of the lake.
“I also did it in the Netherlands because I was living on the sea shore. In general, the Netherlands is clean, but the ships threw the garbage, so I started collecting the garbage, it is in my nature. When I see it, I can’t escape cleaning,” Spanderman asked about his passion.
Dutch tourists came to Kashmir about 25 years ago and immediately fell in love with the place.
When she returned about five years ago, she stayed in the valley, but disappointed with the level of pollution in the lake.
He said, “From the day I came to Kashmir, I started picking up garbage. Now, it has been five years,” he said.
In November last year, Spanderman found a boat of his own to get help in his campaign.
“I felt that if anyone is not doing this, I am going to do so. It is probably only one drop in the ocean, but I have learned one thing that if you want to teach people, the best thing is that the best thing is. People start not to note,” he said.
Foreign said that she wants to create a public awareness about the environment.
“I care about the environment, I want it to be clean. But, it’s very dirty here, I cannot do it alone. It is my way to clean it and create awareness among people. I think now that I am collecting garbage now, not only here but also in streams and forests, people start helping me.
“I am confident that if everyone helps me, the whole of Kashmir can be cleaned within two years. I really believe it. Many Kashmiris say it will take 1,000 years … No, you can teach within a generation,” he said.
Spanderman said that he has attracted some attention to his work.
“J&K LCMA (Lake Conservation and Management Authority) vice -president asked me to come and speak with him. They want to work with me and use their knowledge to educate children in schools,” she said.
When the Dutch is not collecting national waste, she is often cycling on the streets of the city, especially Foreshore Road.
“Sometimes I am busy and I cannot do it on a daily basis. Most days I do this when I have nothing else. Then I go on lakes, swimming, pedaling, cycling, hiking and the way I collect garbage,” he said.
Spaaanderman all cleanses alone – without any support or money. Her small ‘Shikara’ is like a wooden manual de-vider.
Dal is not just a lake. The famous water body is a source of livelihood for many Kashmiris and a famous tourist attraction. However, over the years, the lake has seen pollution and encroachment.
While efforts have been made by the government such as dreging, de-wedding and anti-enacuting drives, water bodies are still facing danger.
The Dutch tourist said that she consider her home lake and wants to give her back.
His efforts are being appreciated by the local people.
A local, Yawar Ahmed, said that he has seen Spanderman collecting plastic waste several times.
“It’s really laudable what she is doing. I often think, if a foreign tourist woman can do this, why can’t we do it?” He said.
Ahmed said that the work of Dutch tourist is an inspiration and hoped that it will inspire the younger generation to think about the environment and raise awareness among people to prevent throwing garbage at water bodies and other places.
