Jammu and Kashmir

The story is familiar. A few people returning from abroad, ignoring quarantine, meeting family and friends and then testing positive. A preacher, in particular, may have spread the virus far and wide in Kashmir.

Several studies on pollution in the Dal Lake have pointed to the impact of the waste discharged by houseboats operating on the lake; yet rehabilitation or realignment of these may not be the only solution for saving the lake.

Almost synonymous with Kashmir, the Dal Lake is dying a slow death, marred by ineffective sewage disposal, rampant encroachments and inefficient administration. The J&K High Court, too, has observed that “crores have been spent so far, but nothing has happened on the ground.”