A vendor from Thar desert win hearts on social media for selling a bottle of mineral water at a low rate to commuters. A man shared the video in which he said that the bottle of mineral water originally cost the vendor for Rs.20 and he is reselling it with a mere profit of Rs.2 and Rs.3 to travelers and commuters.
He said the seller, a destitute resident of Thar desert, could have sold it at a higher price and benefited from the plight of the commuters and visitors as there are no facilities are available in the region to facilitate the travelers and commuters. He added that the poor seller can sell the bottle at Rs.100 and can misuse from their plight.
The video forces the viewers to rethink the recent tragedy reported in Pakistan’s most-visited tourist destination, Murree. At least 22 tourists had died in their cars after being stuck on the road during a snow blizzard. Reports emerged that hotel owners had brazenly overcharged the tourists who sought shelter in the hotels from the extreme weather. Due to high hotel rents, tourists preferred to spend the night in their cars with heaters on that led to the death of some tourists.
https://twitter.com/fahadtaherani/status/1486252458468855808?s=20
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Not only hotel rooms but food items were also sold at a high price to the tourists stuck in Murree. No help came from the locals and the residents as well to the stranded tourists. It was after the social media storm that civil administration organizations came into action and locals reached out to help the tourists. The incident, however, brought to the surface some harsh truths like greed, inhumanity, insensitivity.
Perhaps the downside of capitalism-the insatiable desire to earn profits at the cost of humanity-also manifested itself. Businesses stoop to capitalize on the plight of tourists to earn hefty profits despite the fact that Murree is the most popular destination in Pakistan-receiving an influx of foreign and local tourists throughout the year. Besides, the hotel owners, restaurants, and other businesses also earn heavily from the influx of tourists.
The most neglected region
On the other hand, Tharparkar is the most underdeveloped and neglected region in Pakistan, with zero employment opportunities and children often starving to death due to malnutrition. People in Tharparkar are desperately in need of sources to generate incomes to survive, if not for social mobility. With the inadequate infrastructure to thrive and flourish tourism, the influx of people from other parts of the country is extremely low in this region. However, it is the humanitarian aspect that caused the seller in the video to sell the water bottle at a cheap rate to the commuters.
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This brings to attention the need to put in extraordinary efforts to develop the region and construct the tourism infrastructure in the Tharparkar desert so that people can have the taste of Thari hospitality and culture.