Kashmir Celebrates the World Environmental Week by a General Confession that its Citizens are too Greedy to Care for the Environment

While the Chief Minister admits defeat on saving the Dal Lake, other Lakes are faring no better. Two reports from the Greater Kashmir

Azad: Dal has Become Money-Minting Machine for Politicians

Srinagar: Chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today said his government had done nothing for the preservation of Dal Lake.

“If I look back at my tenure as chief minister for past three years, I will have to cut a sorry figure because we have not been able to do anything for the protection and preservation of Dal Lake,” Azad said addressing a seminar ‘climate changes: causes, consequences and control’ on the inaugural function of World Environment Week celebrations organized by Kashmir University here.

Azad said Dal has been turned into a dustbin and forests are crying for protection.

He said the Dal has become money-minting machine for politicians and they would never want it should be cleared. “If Dal is restored to its past glory, government of India will stop sanctioning money for its restoration and preservation and those politicians don’t want it,” Azad said.

He blamed everybody from a politician to a layman for the degradation of environment in the Valley. “We have all played a criminal role to destroy the environment of the Kashmir. It is shame for us that matters related to the preservation of the environment have always been ignored by the governments,” Azad said.

Without naming anybody, Azad said there are some “mighty and big people” who have vandalized the forests in the Kashmir and were responsible for degradation of the environment.

Azad said climatic changes are nowadays evident in Kashmir and depletion of the forest has further compounded the situation. “I can’t say to what extent nature is responsible for the degradation of environment in Kashmir but we have been criminals as far as our role is concerned,” Azad said.

Azad assured the varsity authorities that he would take the matter of allotting the Institute of Aquatic Research to the University with Union ministry. The varsity officials had earlier appealed Azad to intervene in the matter. “I will appeal the Union minister for Science and Technology, Kapil Sibil, to visit Kashmir and we can also take the issue of Aquatic Institute with him,” Azad said.

Talking to media persons on the sidelines of the function, Azad said government was seeking to bring legislation banning the production and import of polythene in Kashmir.

Earlier, Azad launched the Nature Club- an eco-friends club of varsity for preservation of environment.

After Dal, Khushalsar and Gilsar battle for survival

Srinagar: While the successive regimes acted as mute spectators to the inflow of sewage and encroachment of the once sparkling Khushalsar and Gilsar lakes in Sher-e-Khas, the water-bodies have turned into cesspools.

Known for pristine waters a few decades ago, Khushalsar and Gilsar were a favorite fishing resort of tourists and locals. The waters of Dal smoothly flowed into the water bodies through the Nallah Amir Khan and merged with Jhelum via Wular.

The lakes used to support many species of fish and large strands of reeds, aquatic weeds, Nadru plantations, which were exploited by fishermen and local inhabitants for commercial purposes. The small swaps in the lakes were thronged by different species of migratory birds, attracting large number of tourists and researchers. Gradually due to the unchecked encroachments, growth of obnoxious vegetation propelled by sewage of the catchments, its waters have become stagnant and stinking.

The pollution levels in Khushalsar and Gilsar lakes have reached to such an alarming level that experts have declared its waters, fish, Nadru and other products harmful for human consumption.

The water purity deterioration and weed infestation have posed number of problems to the lake dwellers, particularly fishermen. Most of them suffer from waterborne diseases like Pyrexia, Amoebiasis, Hepatitis and gastrointestinal problems besides skin diseases.

“A few decades ago, I used to catch 10-15 kilograms of fish from the lakes. Now I only get a few kilograms of fish and most of them are dead. These sparkling lakes have become poison ponds due to sewage,” said an aged fisherman, Abdul Ahad.

An unending stretch of garbage, including polythene lies scattered in Khushalsar near Gill Kadal. The locals accuse the people from adjoining areas of dumping the large chunk of leftover food and garbage in the lake.

“The waters of Khushalsar and Gilsar were so clean that we used to drink it. We also organized swimming competitions in the lakes. But in absence of any conservation measure it has been reduced to a septic tank. With the rise in temperature, the water bodies emanate pungent smell. This has made our lives miserable,” said Ali Muhammad Magray, a local. The locals said some farmers with the backing of a former minister have bifurcated the lake by a bund. “The bund has been made to stop flow of garbage and polluted waters into other parts of Khushalsar which have been encroached for Nadru cultivation.

We had apprised the authorities about the matter but they did not take any action for obvious reasons,” the locals said. Last year the people had protested when some persons started construction of houses on the banks of Gilsar. “But there was nobody to listen. The influential people greased the palms of the officers and constructed bungalows on springs. The lake has been encroached and exploited before the eyes of the government,” Ghulam Ahmad a local said.

Major threat to the lakes is the sewage of Bota Kadal, Vicharnag, Gasiyar , Sangam Darwaza, Wantpora and Kawdara. It is estimated that 465 million litres of waste water enters the twin lakes carrying two metric tons of Nitrogen and 1.7 metric tons of phosphorous per day. Studies have shown that the chemical parameters of lakes have increased alarmingly beyond permissible levels. The tremendous increase in Calcium, Magnesium, Chloride, Nitrogen-Nitrate and Phosphates, iron and depletion of oxygen content have rendered the waters of the lakes unfit for drinking.

“The lakes are ecologically exposed to cultural Euthrophication. Massive construction of houses and flow of their sewage into the lake over the years has caused a serious ecological threat. All its products like Nadru are harmful for human consumption. If proper conservation measures are not taken on war-footing, the lakes will vanish,” environmentalists said.

In 2002, the government had formulated a comprehensive plan of Rs.61 crores for preservation of Khushalsar. The plan had been approved by the Central Government and submitted to the Asian Development Bank for funding.

The plan envisaged to protect and develop the lake by removal of encroachment by way of earth filling, illegal plantations and constructions. Besides their demarcation and fencing, it was decided to deploy Forest Protection Force personnel to keep strict vigil in Khushalsar to stop further encroachment. But the plan is yet to be implemented.
Minister for forests, Qazi Muhammad Afzal, told Greater Kashmir that priority of the government was to save the Dal lake. “We can’t save all the lakes overnight. The deterioration of the lakes took decades and it will take us at least a few years for their restoration,” Afzal said.