Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar was yet to get over the shock and losses suffered from the five-month political lockdown over abrogation of Article 370. Just as schools and colleges opened on March 1st, and hopes were picking up for the tourist season, came the Coronavirus lockdown. It began with a 65-year-old woman from Srinagar testing positive for the virus on March 18th. She had a travel history of pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia and had returned on March 16th, spent a day with family members and neighbours. The incident evoked strong criticism as the lady happened to be the mother-in-law of a senior police…

In an earlier article that traces the gradual but unchecked degradation of the Dal Lake in Kashmir, it had been pointed out that as early as 2009, the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Board had drawn attention, in a report, to the lake pollution created by the houseboats which have been traditionally been tourist favourites. The second largest lake in Kashmir, Dal Lake has four basins: Gagribal, Lokut Dal, Bod Dal and Nagin. According to studies, Lokut Dal and Bod Dal receive about 97,000 kg of sewerage every day! Ghulam Mohammad Itoo, a resident of Rainawari, shares that “The strong…

It is called ‘Srinagar’s jewel’ or ‘jewel in the crown of Kashmir’ -- the Dal Lake, immortalised by literature as much as by countless popular movies and tourist chronicles. Sadly, today it has become a victim of political, social and economic neglect. Over the last thirty years, the lake has been deteriorating at a rapid rate. According to a reply submitted by the state government to the J&K High Court on September 18,  Rs 759 crores of rupees have been spent on the lake since the year 2002, but the plight of the lake continues to become poorer by the…