Kashmir may be known for its flushing meadows, gurgling brooks, cascading waterfalls but the memories tourists visiting the JK take back are hoardings of recycled paper and pillars of concrete. Passing by the world famous Dal Lake around the Boulevard in Kashmir or crossing over the bridge on River Tawi in Jammu, an onlooker awaits eye-pleasing moments but suddenly finds visions blurred by the out-of-size hoardings. This is causing “visual pollution” and making life miserable for aesthetic lovers or those longing an open space after coming out of concrete jungles of city life. The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, has called for restoration of pristine glory of historic Lal Chowk in Srinagar to make it a centre of attraction for tourists and locals. The big question remains, where is smart Srinagar. The official has directed the concerned authorities to ensure restoration of defunct streetlights at an earliest. It was given out in the meeting that 60 MLD sewerage treatment plant is coming up at Aloochibagh, which will cater to the needs of Lal Chowk and surrounding areas. Economic Reconstruction Agency will upgrade the dewatering station at Lal Chowk. Officials should ensure that passenger buses stop at designated bus stops only and encroachments from footpaths are removed. He appealed the shopkeepers to cooperate with the administration in making Lal Chowk pedestrian friendly place. One of the tourists recently said that he was mesmerized by Kashmir’s beauty but was disturbed on seeing huge hoardings everywhere near the tourist spots. It was unfortunate that people who were not experts on environment and did not have an aesthetic sense were heading important positions related to environment conservation. Unfortunately, we can see a ‘Save Dal Lake’ hoarding blocking the view of Dal Lake. What memories are these tourists going to take with our environment in such a bad state and all picturesque views blocked by these hoardings? The State High Court on January 4, 2013 also passed an order against the advertising agency and a local newspaper which were trying to bag the rights for installing signboards in the municipal areas. In Paris, the capital of France, the government took a decision to cut the poster sizes by one-third and the permissible size of the largest hoarding in the fashion capital now is 8 sq meters down from 12 sq meters. In the US, Federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965 and Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 have limited the number of hoardings being installed. However, there is also a divided opinion about visual pollution throughout the world.