How a British travel vlogger’s video led to the govt action against the Luxus Resort in Hunza
A viral video has led to quite a problem for a resort in Hunza’s Attabad that has been accused of poor environmental protection practices. The Luxus Resort in Attabad has denied allegations of discharging untreated sewage into Attabad Lake following a viral video by foreign content creator George Buckley that prompted Gilgit-Baltistan authorities to seal part of the property and impose a fine.
In his video posted on Monday, Buckley claimed that locals had said the resort was dumping waste into the lake and showed the contrast between brown, murky water emerging from the boundaries of the resort and the blue water of the lake.
“The beauty of Lake Attabad is the colour of the turquoise water, and if this continues, you can literally see the brown going all the way around […] where we’re standing at the moment, the winds coming towards us, it smells bad,” he said in the video.
After the video was shared online and garnered one million views and over 37,000 likes, authorities in Gilgit-Baltistan sealed on Tuesday a section of the resort and fined its owner Rs1.5 million for non-compliance with environmental standards.
Gilgit-Baltistan Environmental Protection Agency (GBEPA) Director Khadim Hussain, the Hunza deputy commissioner and other officials inspected the hotel’s environment and sewage system.
The district administration shut down the entire extension of the resort. The sealed portion will remain closed until corrective measures are completed and formal clearance is granted by the EPA after a re-inspection.
The administration has also launched a review of all no-objection certificates issued to hotels and restaurants in the Attabad Lake area.
Dawn tried to contact the management of Luxus Resort Attabad, as well as their offices in Lahore, but no one was immediately available to comment on the issue.
In an Instagram video posted on Tuesday, Luxus denied the claim and said the “adjacent water streams coming from the mountains have natural sediments like mud, rocks and minerals”.
“When these turbid water streams mix with the blue lake water, this causes the muddy/cloudy appearance of water seen near Luxus Hunza.”
The resort said the phenomenon was known as “confluence”, where two separately flowing water bodies meet. “If one of the water bodies is high in turbidity, then this causes a muddy/cloudy water surface at the point of confluence. This phenomenon is more pronounced during the summer, which is why every summer, Luxus Hunza is falsely accused of dumping waste water into the lake.”
Following the action from authorities, Buckley posted another video and said, “The hotel I called out yesterday in Pakistan has been found to have been dumping sewage into the lake. This started from my post, and it has now reached a national level. [It’s] all over the news, the government has gotten involved, officials have arrived to the building. I’m in disbelief, to be honest.”
He maintained that Luxus denied all claims and did not provide any credible documents against his allegations. Buckley also thanked everyone from Pakistan who interacted with the post.
“I don’t like drama or getting involved in this stuff, but I felt it was important to address, and within 24 hours, there has been swift action.”
He also distanced himself from the scenario, citing safety reasons, and thanked everyone who raised their voices, adding that it was a shame that nothing was done sooner.
“I haven’t changed my opinion on Pakistan,” Buckley clarified. “I still think it’s a wonderful country, I’ve had lots of great experiences. I’m just documenting my travels as honestly as possible.”
In August of last year, the Hunza district administration and GBEPA took stringent measures against other hotels for similar violations.
At that time, Luxus Resort and Dolphin Floating Resort were sealed due to improper management of grey water from washrooms and kitchens.
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