BY PEER SHAISTA SHAKEEL
As it is said, “What goes around comes around”. This quote aptly fits the recent episode that occurred in Uttrankhand’s Chamoli District because the sudden outburst was a consequence of anthropogenic interference in the ecological system and ignorance about the local ecology. It was a warning for tempering with the environment. Putting a pause on the Uttrakhand disaster, Let us focus on the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. J&K owes a unique geographical setting that is rich as well as fragile at the same time, especially, the Kashmir valley. The valley is a deep basin lying between the spurs of the great Himalayas and Pir Panchal Range at an average altitude of 5300 ft above sea level. coordinated between the 33’ 15 and 34’35 N, 74’10 and 75’40 E The Kashmir valley is occupied by Karewas, quagmires ,uplands , springs depicting its fascinating relief, diverse demography and selective geographical contours.
The beauty of Kashmir attracted historians, poets, and rulers over times. The splendor compelled them to praise the valley and decorate it with different names like Heaven on earth, the Himalayan Beauty etc . But unfortunately, this paradise is conceding to the gallows of disasters -Natural n man made . The gratuitous human intrusion in the ecological balance disfigured and mutilated the very existence of Kashmir in every possible way. Starting from The green gold which is disappearing at an alarming rate, may generate scarcity of this precious resource in very near future. State of Forest Reports read that The forest cover in UT of J&K is 19.58% as per the recent report, contrasting with the norm of National Forest Policy 1988 which provides for forest cover of 1/3 of the total geographical area.
Sustainable and judicial forest production has a very promising role in boosting the economy of the UT. The Sufi saint Sheikhul Alam R.A has said “Ann posh teli yeli wann poush” (Food is to Forests) .But the Wann in our valley is subjected to tormentation for our petty greed in many a forms and is vanishing constantly .well officially the disappearing of the resource is to Real and interpretational changes I,e decrease in forest cover and reflectance of agriculture and horticultural crops respectively. What may ever b the reason, our forest resources have been brutally bruised for now.
Then comes our Karewas locally known as ” Vudur” dominantly lacustrine in origin and suitable for saffron, walnut, almonds, and pear cultivation. But past a couple of years these tablelands have been reduced to dreadful ravines and the violent anthropogenic erosion had vanished almost half of these Karewas across the valley. The Kashmiri proverb “Mechi khanen rozi ne Mech” (Time will come when there will b no karewas left) coincides with the fading Karewas. Many shreds of evidence support the authenticity of the loss of karewas along the national highway near Delina Taper, Pattan at Baramulla where it has disappeared almost completely. The excavated soil is either used to fill marshy land or to assure a plain surface for construction.
Another trend that is prevalent in Kashmir is filling of the wetlands and agricultural neglecting that they act as sponge to retain excess water. This filling is done to pave way for construction which though is illegal but still is prevalent. Due to this mal practice, we already witnessed the horrible disaster in the form of 2014 Floods that wreaked havoc in the UT of J&K. But we are yet to learn lesson from that.
Moreover the “Veyth” ( River jehlum) Pride of Kashmir has been transformed into the dumping sites through out the valley . The heaps of garbage are visible on the banks of river Jhelum and a sign board can be seen mounted on them with words keep the place clean ..,ironically.Last but not the least ,world Famous Dal Lake, too is suffocating and has become the mausoleum of filthy material. Non bio degradable items -polythene, used sanitary items household waste and god knows what other things directly finds their place in this beautiful dustbin. So technically Dals beauty is being annihilated in a subtle style. We have meddled with the crust of our land in all possible manners and that manifest our level of backwardness – aesthetically and morally both. We may be doing ‘virud” (memorise) Safai chu nisaf emaan . but when it comes to practice we find our selves at zero scale.
So as society we have to rise on the occasion and take the oath to reverse the trends that are badly hurting our environment and the ecosystem. We have to wake up if not for ourselves at least for our future generations. There is no other option. Otherwise, we have to wait for a more forceful disaster that will sweep our existence.
The author can be reached at shaistamasoodi657@gmail.com
