Srinagar, Sept. 1 -- A few days ago, my friend Javaid sent me a video from Chandpora in Harwan, Srinagar. A huge heap of wedding waste had been dumped beside the Srinagar-Harwan road. Someone had collected the waste after a marriage function and left it there as though the road itself were a dumping ground.

I uploaded the video on social media and asked the Srinagar Municipal Corporation and local police to identify those responsible and take action under the law.

I have seen similar scenes for years, with wedding waste often dumped in forests, village commons, streams, canals and small lakes. In Srinagar and other towns, some families carry the waste to the Jhelum, Dal Lake or nearby roadsides.

The irony is that the municipal system a...