(A personal field report from someone who just moved in.)

I was so happy to move to Manali for work. Honestly, I was over the moon. You know how much I love deodar trees. I love the ones in Shimla, Narkanda, and my hometown, Nankhari, too. I just can’t get enough of them. But living here made me confront the waste management situation in Manali in ways I didn’t expect.

So moving to a place surrounded by these gentle, tall trees felt like coming home. But after a week, I noticed something interesting. The deodars are everywhere. The dustbins? Missing. And slowly, I started realising why people keep talking about waste management in Manali.

The Manali Floods 2025, along with devastation in Mandi and Kullu, marked one of Himachal Pradesh’s worst monsoon disasters.

Mandi-Manali Floods 2025 at a Glance

• Deaths: 320 | Missing: 38

• Disasters Recorded: 78 flash floods, 41 cloudbursts, 82 landslides (June–August 2025)

• Worst-Hit Districts: Mandi, Kullu, Manali

• Key Causes: climate change, unplanned construction, illegal mining

I want to start with a little story. A few months ago, I was on a mission to buy a birthday gift for my father. Simple, right? Well, I thought so too, until I found myself lost in the black hole of endless phone reviews, YouTube videos, tech blogs, and "expert" lists. Every phone seemed to have some shiny pros... and some scary cons. I was more confused than ever.