The water bodies in and around Srinagar are Shrinking fast owing to human greed and under the pressure of rapid but unplanned urbanization
|| FAROOQ AHMAD
Water is the prime natural resources gifted by God to the mankind. Water is vital for both metabolic and non metabolic activates and that is the reason the ancient civilizations were mainly situated on banks of the water bodies. The civilization of Mesopotamia, which was called cradle of civilization, was situated between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The ancient society of Egyptians was depended on Nile. In the ancient time Rome was settled on the banks of river Tiber. The importance of this precious water resource is mentioned in every Holy Scriptures of major religions of the world. In contemporary period this precious recourse has became the victim of human greed and as a consequence of which many countries of the world are in the trap of water scarcity. These water resources are abridged day by day in the name of development.
The main factors which lead to the decline of these water resources are population explosion, urbanization, migration, Industrial development, excess use of non biodegradable material and chemicals used for the agricultural purposes. Jammu and Kashmir, especially the Valley is very rich in the water resources like Dal Lake, Wullar Lake, Anchar Lake, Manasbal Lake and Nageen Lake. These water bodies are famous at both national and international level .These water bodies play a prime role in the economic development of the state. There is a huge population in the Valley which is directly or indirectly dependent on these water resources for their livelihood. But the condition of these water bodies is very painful as they have become victims of the human greed. The Dal Lake has shrunk from 2,547 hectares in 1971 to 1,620 hectares in 2008, estimates a paper, Impact of Urban Land Transformation on Water Bodies. Although it has lost almost half of its water surface area in forty years, it still looks like a water body. Adjoining lakes like Gilsar, Khushalsar and Aanchar have all but disappeared because the drainage system of the Dal which used to feed these small water bodies has been converted into landmass through heavy siltation. It was this reason that forced Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehabooba Mufti to warn in the state assembly during the last session that those who will be found guilty of encroaching water bodies in the state would be dealt with severely. The famous Dal Lake which is pride of Kashmir attracts not only Indian domestic but foreign tourists. But the lake is dying due to the anthropogenic activities. The LAWDA has failed to protect the lake despite spending huge money. During my interaction with locals I could conclude that corruption in the LAWDA has destroyed the lake.
Same is the condition of other water bodies of the Valley. Keeping the miserable picture of Dal in mind the government of Jammu and Kashmir has recently set up an 11-member panel for its protection. However the locals say that various measures taken by the government over the years mostly steps remain limited to the papers. Many areas of the Valley are facing acute water shortage which is growing with the passage of each year. Everyday news related to water shortage gets space in print and electronic media. Due to this water shortage in the villages the women flock face lot of challenges of walking long distances to fetch water for drinking, cooking and other purposes. In addition the girls in these villages became the victims of many diseases due to shortage of adequate water at home. In 2003 the state government introduced National Rural Drinking Water scheme but the scheme did not give the expected results due to the lack of good infrastructure and failure in its proper implementation. Due to the apathy of the government many water bodies have dried due to the change in weather. As per rough estimates more than 50 percent water bodies in Kashmir and its adjacent areas have been lost during the past one century.
But the condition of these water bodies is very painful as they have become victims of the human greed. The Dal Lake has shrunk from 2,547 hectares in 1971 to 1,620 hectares in 2008, estimates a paper, Impact of Urban Land Transformation on Water Bodies.
More than 9,119 hectares of open water surfaces and wet land have disappeared between 1911 and 2014 and only 6.873 hectares were preserved. More than 50 percent of water bodies in Srinagar and its suburbs have been lost during the past century, Humayun Rashid and Gowher Naseem of Srinagar’s Directorate of Environment, Ecology and Remote Sensing (DEERS) have concluded in a study. “During the past century, deforestation in the Jhelum basin led to excessive siltation in most of the lakes and water bodies of Srinagar and subsequent human greed brought about sustainable reclamation and land-use change in these assets of high ecological value,” the study says. Towns like Pahalgam, Sonamarg, Srinagar and Sopore, must-see places on the tourist map of the valley, owe their existence to water bodies. These include the Lidder River, the Hokarsar wetland, Dal Lake, Wullar Lake and t he M anasbal L ake. A ccording to tourism department officials, over one million tourists visit these places annually and around 300,000 people are directly and indirectly dependent on these tourist places for their livelihood. The multimillion dollar handicrafts industry of Kashmir, which gives employment to over 200,000 people, is also heavily dependent upon the arrival of tourists in the region. A study on the Impact of Tourism Industry on Economic Development of Jammu and Kashmir says that almost 50-60% of the total population of Jammu and Kashmir is directly or indirectly engaged in tourism related activities. The industry contributes 15% to the state’s GDP.
Another big contribution of Kashmir’s water bodies to the state’s economy is the revenue generated through taxation of water usage for electricity generation by power development agencies like the National Hydroelectric Power C orporation (NHPC). A ccording to Jammu and Kashmir’s Economic Survey of 2014, revenue of INR 242 million ($3.7 million) has been realised since 2010 on account of water usage charges on hydroelectric projects in the state. Owing to these concerns the government of Jammu and Kashmir enacted a law called J&K water regulation and management act in 2010 which came into force from 10.11.2010. This act is meant to regulate usage of water in different activities including household acts and construction. Factors behind destruction of water bodies: some of the main factors which have been attributed to the destruction of the water bodies include lack of planning by the state government, poor infrastructure, high level of corruption in the administration, poor implementation of water regulation act 2010, lack of effective monitoring by the government officials, lack of awareness regarding the importance of water resources, excess use of chemicals in Valley for agriculture purposes, encroachment of water bodies for developmental purposes, lack of coordination between the government, people and ongoing conflict in the Valley, low performance of Panchayats in organizing the awareness programs related to the conservation of water bodies in the rural areas. Conclusion Water is an important constituent of our life and the life on the earth cannot survive for long period without the water. So we should work for the preservation of the water resources and being citizens of the valley we must contribute at an individual level for preservation of the water resources. And being the Muslims it is our responsibility to preserve this great blessing of Allah as spendthrifts and wasteful of any kind are greatly discouraged in the Holy Quran and Hadith. A habit should be made at the personal level to conserve this precious gift, also by educating people regarding the importance of water.
