Overview
- An Instagram reel by travel vlogger Joey Travels showing trash-strewn Mahabalipuram Beach in Tamil Nadu has gone viral, with The Indian Express reporting the clip has topped one million views.
- In the video, he calls the shore the “most trashed beach” he has ever seen and labels the behavior “shameful,” arguing that many people assume cleaning public spaces is the government’s job.
- Several commenters, many identifying as Indian, agree with his criticism and call for better civic education, while others note a habit of keeping homes clean but ignoring shared spaces.
- Some reactions link littering to long-standing social attitudes about sanitation work, including caste-based expectations that someone else will clean up public areas.
- Coverage places the debate in the context of the Swachh Bharat Mission, noting infrastructure gains have not ensured daily behavior change and that tourist beaches with heavy footfall and few bins often see waste pileups.