Kashmir’s dwindling willow plantations are impacting the region’s famed cricket bat industry and risking the supply of cricket bats in India. The trees are being cut in large numbers and no one is planting them again
Overlooked by the Himalayas, Wular, one of Asia’s biggest freshwater lakes, sits 34 km northwest of Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar. Known for its deep, pristine waters, the lake has suffered extensive degradation in recent decades.
In a 2007 study, conservation group Wetlands International said the lake originally covered an area of nearly 218 square kilometres, including 58 sq km of marshland.
It shrank in size by 45% over a century — from about 158 sq km in 1911 to 87 sq km in 2007 — as it was drained for agriculture and willow plantations, the report said.
Coordinator of the Wular Conservation and Management Authority (WUCMA), said remote sensing imagery showed willow plantations extend across an area of about 27 sq km.The trees, combined with severe siltation where they grow, have reduced the lakes capacity by one fifth, he said.
Taking away more than 20 million cubic metres of silt would increase the depth of lake by 3.5 metres (11.5 ft), he noted.
Experts have identified some potential short-term losses from the planned conservation measures — which are due to cost 4.24 billion rupees ($64.5 million) — such as algae blooms caused by the release of soil nutrients into the water after the trees are felled.
Willow planting began in Wular in 1924, mainly to provide firewood, and the plantation area was brought under Kashmir’s forest department in the 1980s.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the region’s agriculture arm planted vast areas with willow as demand soared for wood to make cricket bats and fruit boxes.
But in recent years, experts have traced problems linked to heavy siltation — including less water in the lake and declining fish stocks to the presence of the willow trees.
These plantations act as a barrier to the silt-laden waters of the River Jhelum, forcing it to discharge its sediment load into the lake, thereby reducing its water-holding capacity, said Samiullah Bhat of the University of Kashmir’s Department of Environmental Science, who participated in an environmental impact assessment of willow tree removal at Wular.
Lines of shops display neat stacks of willow wood along a nondescript motorway in Kashmir’s Sangam village. Behind the shops are small manufacturing units, where that willow is hand-made into cricket bats that find their way to India and cricket-playing nations around the world.But in the future, those bats are probably hard to come by.
Kashmir’s dwindling willow plantations are impacting the region’s famed cricket bat industry and risking the supply of cricket bats in India, where the sport is hugely followed. The industry employs more than 10,000 people and manufactures nearly a million bats a year. Most are sold to Indian tourists, while the rest are exported to Indian cities and other countries.
“There will be no bats produced in Kashmir in the coming years if the shortage continues,” said a company owner who exports cricket bats.
He said the demand for Kashmir willow bats increased after it was introduced during the ICC World T20 competition in Dubai last year.
Tens and thousands of towering willow trees were introduced to the picturesque Himalayan region by the British in the early 19th century to maintain the supply of firewood during Kashmir’s harsh winters. Decades after, the region’s villagers also began abundantly planting a tree and using their wood to produce cricket bats.
But over the years, farmers in the region have been planting poplars in place of willows. The faster-growing poplar tree is preferred by the booming plywood industry.
“The trees are being cut in large numbers and no one is planting them again,” He said.
The problem is not expected not to affect international players, who mostly use bats made from imported English willow, but will hit regional players and cricket enthusiasts who use the more affordable Kashmir-made bats.
Willow trees are known next only to Chinar trees in properties of providing coolness, freshness and oxygen besides having traditionally been used for firewood purposes in kitchens in Kashmir as also for manufacturing of high quality cricket bats etc though with the advent and popularising of the LPG, such a traditional practice of using it in kitchens is no more to be seen now. This tree is extensively cultivated and grown on the sides of the paddy fields, near marshy lands and even exclusively once its commercial value in terms of making cricket bats etc got widely known and demand increased all round to an extent that more and more small units came into being manufacturing cricket bats and allied products. The willow wood, which goes by the scientific name of Salix alba var. caerulea, is sourced in bulk, usually from areas surrounding Anantnag. It is then cut into blocks called clefts and left in stacks to dry under the sun for up to six months.
Once ready to use, it is chiselled, hammered and polished by the workers into the finished product. A strong piece of wood, three feet in height and with a girth of 35-40 inches, will produce five full-sized bats.
Depending on the resources on hand, a factory can produce anywhere between 30 and 250 bats each day. These bats are sold across India, and are exported to cricket-playing nations around the world as well.
In international cricket, the English willow is most preferred due to the quality of wood; its Kashmiri counterpart is considered heavier and harder, and is said to lack the punch while playing a stroke. However, the cost effectiveness of the Kashmiri willow makes it a good substitute and is consequently, more popular among budding and semi-professional cricketers. On average, a bat made of the English willow costs over Rs6,000, while one made of the Kashmiri willow starts at Rs800.
Cricket in Kashmir, though, has always played second fiddle to football at the professional level. With the region experiencing monsoon and snowfall for close to five months, cricket is mostly restricted to the mohallas, in addition to local tournaments during the summer months.
Every once in a while, the Jammu & Kashmir cricket team has had something to celebrate—although momentarily—even as they continue to seek consistency in the domestic competition, the Ranji Trophy. The bat industry then banks on the glitz of the Indian Premier League, World Cup wins such as in 1983 and 2011, and the frenzy surrounding the rare India-Pakistan clashes, for its sales.
Over the years though, the industry has had to deal with a lot of hurdles, both natural and situational. For starters, the willow that has been so giving over all these years has come under severe pressure. While the demand for bats has risen in the domestic and international markets, there are hardly any new trees being planted to compensate for those felled.
Most of the existing plantations are on private land and are being cultivated by individual farmers, rather than through a collective effort. Each willow tree needs at least 20-25 years to mature before it can be put to any use. Due to the investment in time, most choose to put the land to other use in search of quicker returns.
The fact of the matter is that both growth of these trees as well the products manufactured have seen a decline due to host of reasons for many years continuously. Mass urbanisation of villages, shrinking of the land for cultivation, replacement by tall fast growing poplar trees, drop in exports as also sports activities in schools, colleges and in private tournaments for years in a row in Kashmir having suffered due to terrorism related violence, willow industry is in a crisis. There are thousands of people directly and indirectly engaged in willow related activities and earning livelihood not only in Jammu and Kashmir but in other neighbouring states as well. The UT Government reportedly is seized of the matter concerning the problems of the willow industry and must, therefore, take appropriate remedial measures including importantly affording a protectionist cover through a Government policy to save it from plunging into further troubles.
