The real ‘Khatron k Khiladi’ needs "little cooperation" from people to tackle human-wildlife conflict in Kashmir

On January 27, a leopard in Parigam village of Pulwama district was killed by the villagers when a group of at least three predators was seen in the village. 

The villagers who were terrified of the last incident again witnessed another group of three leopards in the village.    

Similarly, on April 2, a leopard was killed by villagers in Khud Hanjipora belts Kulgam district of Kashmir. The wild cat attacked the villagers and injured several of them. On the following day, a picture was making rounds on social media where three men were seen skinning the animal.

Reportedly the leopard attacked eight people after which it was killed and skinned by the villager as a sign of retaliation.

In another incident on April 28, seven people were injured by a leopard in Pohrupeth area of Handwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara. It is alleged that the leopard barged inside a house and attacked the inmates. The neighbors rescued the family members before the arrival of wildlife officials. 

In a similar incident in Goripora Beerwah area in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on May 25, Mohammad Ayoob Parray and Mohammad Shafi Bhat were spraying pesticides on apple trees when they came face to face with the leopard hiding in the orchard. They sustained injuries by the leopard’s attack and were shifted to a hospital. 

The latest case of human-wildlife conflict was reported on November 6 from Ramban district where at least 40 sheep were killed by a wild animal in Kali Masta area of Gool. Reportedly, a group of leopards entered the house and killed sheep and goats.

The human-wildlife conflict is not a new phenomenon. People and wildlife have coexisted for a long time but the alarming situation is the intensity of the conflict which is more frequent and widespread. It has led to a major threat to the survival of humans and wildlife.

According to a study done by researchers from Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Medical College, the number of cases of death due to the conflict has increased in the time period between 2005-2016. In 2005-2006 Kashmir reported three deaths and 79 people were injured. However, in 2015-2016, 22 deaths were reported with 317 persons injured.

The study also concluded that out of a total of 1067 cases of wild animal injuries, 76% of the injuries were due to beer mauling, 6% were due to leopard attacks and the rest from red fox, monkey, and unknown animals.

The maximum human-wildlife conflict in the valley is because of the proximity of humans with leopard and bear. The carnivores have come down to human settlements in recent years and have attacked the inhabitants, particularly since the armed conflict in the valley in the 1990s.

Reasons for the conflict

According to Census 2011, Jammu & Kashmir has a population of 1.25 crores as compared to a population of 1.01 crore in 2001, leading to an increase in land demand, food, raw materials, and many other resources which are procured at the cost of nature. 

A study done by University of Kashmir found out that the fencing of Line of Control (LOC) has fragmented natural habitat resulting in the hindrance of wild animal movements across the line, consequently, they are heading towards human settlements adjoining areas. 

While there are ample reasons behind the human-wildlife conflict, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic has only increased this conflict. With the lockdown implemented, many cities have seen more movement of wildlife towards human settlements. 

“The human-wildlife conflict intensity was quite high during the lockdown,” said a wildlife official from Sopore on the condition of anonymity, adding, “we have to go to 3-4 places daily to resolve the issues.” Due to cherry bloom and strawberry, many bears were coming down to the farms, added the official.

Mohammad Shafi Bhat who works as a helper in the man-animal conflict control room Beerwah said that the number of cases of human-wildlife conflict has been increasing continuously. 

“The pressure is the same as it was before but many leopards are coming down from higher altitudes in Budgam area,” said Suhail Yousuf Qazi, Range Officer from Hokersar Wetland Reserve.

Little corporation from people

While the wildlife officials work very hard to resolve the conflict most of them felt that there is a very little corporation from people when it comes to rescue operations.

“When the police come with us, the public tend to be disciplined otherwise, they keep on interfering in our work,” said the anonymous official cited above. He complained that instead of reporting the incident to wildlife officials or police, people call their relatives and friends when they spot wildlife, putting their life and other people’s life in danger.

The animals only come in search of food and shelter, said the official. They may lose their way sometimes and but they never intend to kill humans, the official continued.

“The government is helping even during these tough times but people need to understand the problem and cooperate with us.”

The work that could be completed in one hour takes around three hours due to less cooperation from people said Bashir Ahmed who works in the man-animal conflict control room Chadoora. He said, “When we tell people to stay behind, they don’t listen to us,” adding, “I am not afraid of the risk but with people's cooperation, we can do our task more efficiently.”

Qazi recalled an incident where a leopard was attacked by stones and rods by people. Instead of calling the police and wildlife officials, people started handling the situation by their own which is very wrong, said the Range Officer.

Dearth of staff

On being asked about the number of staff employed some of them felt that there is a dearth of staff when it comes to the wildlife department. “A place where 15 people are required only 2-3 people are working there,” said Qazi. 

The staff in North Kashmir is very less, complained the anonymous official cited above. “We have so many policemen and army but when it comes to wildlife, we have meagre staff,” said the official, questioning, “Is there any priority for wildlife?”

Speaking about the causes of the human-wildlife conflict in Jammu & Kashmir most of the officials blame habitat fragmentation, change in agricultural practices, unplanned construction, overgrazing and conflict between security forces and militants.

Due to conflict between the army and security forces, many forests are devastated resulting in the destruction of animal habitat, said Qazi. Even setting up of camps by the army creates a disturbance in the habitat of the wildlife, continued the Range Officer.

How to prevent the conflict 

For protection against the attack of wild animals, Bhat stressed that parents should refrain from sending their children in the evening.  “Leopards come out at that time in search of prey and whenever villagers go to their field, they should talk in a high pitch to keep the leopard away from attacking,” he added. 

People should stop throwing garbage in open, said the helper, as garbage attracts dogs which in turn attracts leopards.

To create awareness about human-wildlife conflict Ahmed and his team go to various places distributing posters that contains all the instructions to handle the conflict. “We also distribute crackers every year in highly sensitive areas,” added Ahmed.

When asked about poaching activities, the officials were certain that there was no incident of poaching in the valley. 

The work involved is very risky but most of them enjoy their work. “How can we consider it dangerous when we enjoy what we do,” said Bhat.

Explaining the rescue process the helper explained that people are first rescued from the house, after that the animal is tranquillized and then it is released in the wild where the environmental conditions are favourable for it.

While the human-wildlife conflict is tended to increase in the coming years, people should start cooperating with the officials to help them in the rescue operations instead of taking the situation in their hands. Acting as a mere spectator while the trained people do their job would be beneficial for both parties. 

PS: The report is dated- 3rd June 2020. I have updated some human-wildlife conflict incidents.

Desi embroidery turns videshi in Kashmir

Crewel Embroidery Photo:Credits-Jos&fine Cashmere

When Shameem Ahmad Magray was young he didn’t go to school rather he along with his bunch of friends learned embroidery at his neighbour‘s house. Since then Magray has been working in this field and is a master of all hand-made embroidery techniques.

“You tell me what you want and I will make it,” says the confident artisan who has been in this field for 35 years. “It may take some time but the product will be everlasting,” continues Magray. While he put in a lot of hard work in the work, he only earns about Rs. 500 per day for his 12-hour work.

Kashmir’s embroidery popularly known as Kashida embroidery is one of the most popular needlework from the Indian subcontinent. Be it pashmina shawls with exotic sozni embroidery designs, the crewel embroidered curtain in the houseboats, the embroidered felt rugs or the chain stitch cushions, all these embroideries techniques have been followed by Kashmiri people for a long time.

Tilla embroidery Photo:Jos&fine Cashmere

Kashmir was ruled by foreign rulers for centuries, whose influence can be seen on Kashmiri textiles. According to a study by Deborah Emmet during 1420-70, Zain-Ul-Abidin, the eighth sultan of Kashmir brought shawl and carpet weavers to the valley from Turkestan and Samarkand respectively. It is believed that crewel and chain stitch embroidery was introduced in the valley during his reign. 

“The integrity of handmade products is very different”

Zamir Naqash, the owner of Naqash Design deals with sozni and crewel embroidery techniques. His father started the manufacturing of Kashmir textiles with different embroidery techniques. When he joined the business, he started exporting textiles.

“The integrity of handmade products is very different,” admits Naqash who only works in hand made embroidery. He says that they try to make products that stand out in the market. 

Sozni embroidery is considered to be done by the most skilled embroiderers in the valley. This embroidery technique employs a needle by which identical motifs are made on both sides of the fabric. 

The artisans make a stencil of the design on the cloth using “engraved wooden blocks dipped in a watery solution of charcoal powder mixed with a type of binder”. Woodworkers called 'Naquash Gurs' engrave the wood blocks with fine details. 

Once the pattern and colours are decided each fabric is given to a craftsman because each handwork is distinct. 

Batin Iqbal, who runs Batin Textiles and Handicrafts has been working on Aari embroidery techniques for a long time.

Manual Embroidery Photo: Batin Iqbal

The thread used for the embroidery is selected according to the aari and fineness of the stitches. The hook is always under the fabric on which embroidery is done and then it moves along the design pattern. The stitch is done from one point and to create an emboss effect on the fabric the stitch rotates around the point.

Crewel designs are larger than other embroideries and the most common patterns are flowers, birds, and paisley. Each flower is given a name by the craftsman, says Iqbal

Most of the aari work is carried out by machines, says Iqbal. But the finish and quality is better in hand made products, he continues. He says that as the demand for production has increased, manual and computerized machines have been employed heavily by manufacturers. 

“In computerized machines,” Iqbal says, “one-man can-do work of 20 men.”

The crisis of in hand-made embroidery market

When Ajaz Tromboo was 22 years old, he wanted to find a job but his father insisted him to join their old family business of embroidery work. As a fresh graduate, Tromboo found the work quite interesting and started expanding the business. “We had many showrooms in Kashmir and outside Kashmir,” says Tromboo. But with machine-made embroidery coming to the market, the handmade embroidery business started facing a crisis, laments the 50-year-old businessman.

Tromboo admits that he also started machine-made embroidery work but he was not satisfied. “I thought I was going away from the rich Kashmiri culture on which my father has spent so much time,” he says, adding, “so I decided to stick to hand-made embroidery.” 

He says the turmoil in the valley has also affected the business badly. He is not able to send materials to his customers on time due to which they are not satisfied with his service and shows a lack of interest.

“We had three stores in Srinagar but as the conditions in the valley deteriorated our stores were shut down,” complains Tromboo.

According to Aaditya Kitroo, co-founder of Jos&fine, when machine-made products came into the market, the hand-made products started showing a decline. In machines, the aari needle fires at a very high speed so the fabric has to be moved quickly and the end-product does not have clean lines unlike in handmade embroidery.

Silk Sozni Border shawl Photo:Jos&fine Cashmere

Kitroo recalls a conversation he had with some elder artisans who told him that in the 90s each day three trucks full of fabric used to go from Srinagar to Anantnag for embroidery and 1000 people used to work on these fabrics.

“If I compare the condition of handmade embroidery products in the early 90s,” Kitroo says, “it is less than 20% of what it was at that time.”

Uncertain future of hand-made embroidery 

Though many artisans are continuing the legacy which their forefathers have started, they are quite uncertain about the future of the legacy. 

Naqash feels that in 30 years Kashmir may lose hand-made embroidery technique. He thinks that the new generation of Kashmir has less respect for the embroidery business and they are not interested in carrying it forward. He hopes that with time Kashmiris may realize that they had “something special” which should be treasured. 

Despite many people preferring machine-made embroidery over handmade embroidery, Kitroo believes that due to coronavirus the market has shifted towards conscious consumption and people are looking at handmade products a bit more. However, people may not buy products like pashmina but economical handmade products like cushion covers, handmade rugs, and bedsheets will be on their list.

"We have to look at the fractured parts and see how to reconnect them:” Akshay Kaul

Since evolution human being has been dependent on its surrounding for food, water, air, and other necessary materials required for sustenance of life. In the pre-historic period, people were described as hunter-gatherers who would kill animals for food and devised ways of vegetation. They didn’t settle in one place but kept on moving in search of a suitable place where they can survive. Since nature was their provider, they worshipped it and kept it safe. 

With the advent of time and technology, the dependence on nature increased which led to more demand. The demand was marked by excessive use of raw materials from nature but without any replenishment. This has resulted in what we see today- haphazard constructions, climate change, deforestation, global warming, man-made calamities, and the list goes on. 

The damage is done and some say it is beyond repair but many people are working to restore the balance in nature with the use of technology and spreading awareness about it. Akshay Kaul is one of those persons who are trying to bring balance through environmentally sustainable landscape planning.

Akshay Kaul

Recently ‘Design with Nature and Not against it’, an online workshop on on-site planning and urban ecology was started in Kashmir for professionals, architects, students of architecture and civil engineering professionals and students, by Kaul, founder of Delhi-based architecture firm ‘Akshay Kaul and Associates.’ 

The workshop was aimed at bringing awareness amongst people about natural processes and systems, principles and tools of site planning and site design, how to locate a building on-site with minimal damage to natural processes and systems. The notion of ‘Design with Nature’ would help participants to understand site and landform through contour plans, google maps, and its study and analysis. 

In this interview Kaul speaks about the workshop, Kashmir's landscape, and ecological planning in the valley. 

Edited excerpts:

1.       How did the idea behind the workshop originate?

I have been actively involved in Kashmir since the 2014 floods. I travelled the whole length of the valley and met many stakeholders, engineers, and common people to understand why the floods happened. 

Kashmir Floods 2014

After researching for six months I started presenting about the natural ecological fragility of the valley and why the floods happened. The ecosystem is on a threshold and until it is actively engaged, we will keep losing it.

 

We teamed up with young people and started a cafe talk over architecture. We even started one of the first story walks in the downtown to engage with people. In 2016 the office of the chief minister called us and after that, we were very actively engaged in doing one of its kind multidisciplinary workshops and conferences. We also initiated a solid waste management dialogue.

 

For flood relief we wanted the government to adopt alternate practices which have been done globally for designing with nature so that if it rains it is absorbed on the side itself and slowly percolates into the ground. Therefore, only some part of the city is inundated.

 

I kept going to Kashmir and then I had friends who were teaching in the school of architecture. They invited me and I did 2-3 workshops with architecture students on how to document lakes and what are the issues.

 

People were restless due to COVID and even the architecture community understands very little about larger issues of geography, climate, and designs that are responsive to nature, so I started the workshop with two modules where I teach architects of the country on how to do sensitive planning. If you have to construct a building on a 50-acre site I demonstrate from my projects of the last 25 years, what are the parameters that must be taken care of.

 

2. Do you think there is a change in the landscape planning in Kashmir post-2014 floods?

I think some people are talking about ecologically sensitive urban planning but not enough. There might be a slight iota of increase in the awareness but on the ground, it doesn't get translated into action.

If we look at Kashmir’s environmental history, flood was a recurring process but there were smaller floods. During the Maharaja reign when the floods came, he invited a French engineer who created a diversion channel which helped to reduce the yearly floods in the valley. Certain areas would get inundated but they were primarily agrarian areas but now those areas are inhabited by people. 

Kashmir Floods 2014

The whole connectivity of the lakes and sub-ground connectivity is completely fragmented due to the construction of rails, roads. Lakes have been encroached and shrunken.

 

The project proposal floated by the then Jammu and Kashmir government sought to create another channel that would straightaway take water into the Wular Lake from where it would drain off. This proposal was not an ecologically-based solution because Wular Lake is shrunk completely and the volume of water coming in the lake would have backflow.

 

3.       What interventions are required for wetlands and rivers in Kashmir?

It's not a big deal for the government to save the water bodies. With a clear mandate and support, they can take waterbodies one by one. If I have to work on the Jhelum river, I would take a smaller watershed and then another watershed and so on. The government can also follow this pattern.

 

The watersheds of Anchar lake are completely dried up because water is not coming from the catchment areas which means that the catchment is disturbed and fragmented. Another reason is the discharge of sewage into the water bodies which have a huge amount of nitrogen. This results in the growth of plantation which converts it into a marsh. A huge amount of pesticides also make their way into the rivers causing contamination of groundwater.

Anchar Lake

 

An alternative to chemical farming is organic farming but the organic farming content is minuscule in Kashmir. The level of education and awareness required for organic farming is not sufficient in the valley.

 

4.       What are the environmental challenges in urban planning in Kashmir?

We are not responding to climate emergencies and changing weather patterns. If you look at it historically Kashmir is a lake of bed which drains off from just one point and it is very prone to earthquakes and much more prone to flooding.

 

There is sprawl in terms of taking over land-use change over the years from agrarian to plantation, marshy to plantation, and agrarian to build.  After the 2014 floods, the building typology hasn't changed so are our planning bylaws.

 

For instance, when we're building in low lying areas like Bemina where it got flooded the most in 2014, the building typology should mandate at least 10 feet of stilted buildings which are also being followed in the outskirts of Kolkata where the Hugli river inundates every year. This type of responsiveness is missing in Kashmir. It can only handle a certain amount of people and there is no room for expansion.

Bemina Area

Many proposals came after the floods but people are building on the same place as it is never going to flood again but if it rains for two days in Kashmir people are frightened.

 

5.       What do you think is missing from the current education system of landscape planning in India?

The curriculum in India is only Masters for landscape architecture and we don't have any undergraduate curriculum per se where you can go through the rigour of landscape planning.  Another serious problem that exists in our landscape architecture curriculum is that only those students who have done specialization in architecture can apply for it. If we include people from other professions it will add more to the course.

 

For example, a person with a sociology background will help us to understand human behaviour in open spaces which will help in making more responsive designs for public spaces. Since people from other fields don’t join the courses there is a very little breadth of the course.

 

When I was studying landscape architecture from State University, New York, we had students who were from different fields thereby expanding the breadth of the subject. This helped us to understand the whole profession and other people add on the expertise of their domain and each of these domains then picks up issues of the environment and embraces it.

 

6.       Which cities/states in India come under the category of well-planned in terms of ecological planning and landscape design?

Sikkim has a turnaround story from being a plastic dumped state to a litter-free state. While travelling to Sikkim as soon as you cross West Bengal, you see there is not an iota of plastic in the state. With whatever minimal infrastructure they have, I would say Sikkim stands way far in comparison to other states.

Sikkim

There are many other isolated places on high altitudes in India on which I've been doing some research where individual efforts are merely heartwarming.

 

7.       What steps should be taken by the government to have environment-sensitive planning?

Some of the work done by us is being implemented by the government. For instance, about four-five years back we talked about connecting greenspaces in Delhi so that they become places for water resilience, wastewater management, biodiversity and once you put this green infrastructure into place, they also become recreational space. 

We have to look at the fractured parts and see how to reconnect them whether they are water systems or green systems.

 

We have an administrative boundary under the jurisdiction of some authority and then there is a political boundary which is under an MLA and then there's an administrative boundary which is that of the district. Half of the rivers which are a part of two-three boundaries are cleaned in one part and the other part remains as such. We're not looking at it comprehensively.

 

 If we don't look at it from a holistic management principle then we will be running into a problem. There has to be a correlation between all the boundaries for better results.

A lost paradise for non-Kashmiri minors

Rohan (name changed) was brought to Kashmir with the promise of a high paying job. Little did he know that he would end up as a household worker in Pulwama. Rohan was living in an ashram in Assam before he came to Kashmir. He used to work at weddings to earn his livelihood. One day while returning from a wedding at night, he met a person who asked him if he wanted to earn more money. Rohan who had no one in his family except his little sister, so he decided to go with the man in search of work. Exhausted by the work, he slept on the train, unknown of the place the man was taking him. When he woke up he was on his way to Jammu.

“Rohan was brought to Pulwama through a consultancy firm who told us that he was an adult,” said Tawseef Ahmad Ganai, a member of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Pulwama. When the CWC got information about Rohan they informed the District Child Protection Unit (DCPO) who brought Rohan to the CWC. On examination, the CWC found out that he was a student of eighth class when he was brought to Kashmir which means that he was around 13 years old, said Ganai.

The consultancy firm was given a warning and since then it is under the scanner of the CWC, Ganai stressed.

People believe that there is no human trafficking in Jammu & Kashmir but they are wrong, said Mohd Sharif Bhat, J&K and Ladakh head of Save the Children, a Non-Government Organization (NGO). As a person who works in the field, Bhat has seen many people having minor non-Kashmiri servants.

Three years back Bhat came across a minor girl from Kolkata who was found on a farm in Kupwara. Bhat was informed about her by the Information District Social welfare officer. When he met her, she was traumatized and didn’t say anything, recalled Bhat.

“I took her to the hospital and informed the concerned authorities,” said Bhat. It was later found out that the girl was suffering from tuberculosis.
According to the social worker, a majority of minors come from Jharkhand through agencies that lure them for jobs.

Picture Courtesy: India.com

Most incidents of missing children are reported from Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, and Bihar according to a study by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2019. The common causes of trafficking were forced marriage, child labour, domestic help, and sexual exploitation, mentioned the study.

As per the data of the 2011 Census, India had 10.13 million child labourers, between the age of 5-14 with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh being the most affected states.

Kashmir receives many minors through consultancy firms who are employed as house workers and a majority of such helpers are employed in Srinagar, said Farooq Ahmad, a Srinagar CWC member. According to Farooq, the number of female minors is more in Srinagar than male minors and the number is increasing.

Recently he came across two-three minors who were brought to the valley through consultancy agencies. One of them was a minor girl from West Bengal whose mother has died and his father, a drunkard, sold her to the agency which brought her to Kashmir, said Farooq.

Due to the pandemic, the minor girl is kept at a shelter in Srinagar and once the conditions improve, she would be sent to the West Bengal CWC.

The condition in other districts of Kashmir is not the same as Srinagar. According to Fahmeeda Maqbool, Chairperson CWC Ganderbal, the number of cases of non-Kashmiri minor helpers is quite less in Ganderbal, and in most of the cases, the number of male minors is more than female minors.

One being asked how the CWC handles such cases, Maqbool said that at first the date of birth is checked and if it does not comply with the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, the child is taken under the care of CWC and strict action is taken against the offender.

The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 states that children below 14 and 15 years in certain prohibited employments have been prohibited by various Acts but there is no procedure laid down in any law for deciding in which employment children are banned. The Act was amended in 2016 and in 2017. The current Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 but they can work in family business/enterprises only if they are non-hazardous.

Advocate Shah Faisal, J&K director of Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) admitted that he comes across numerous cases of minors who are being held by people without their will. He came across the case of a child from West Bengal who wanted to go back home but the household where he was working didn’t let him leave. Faisal filed a complaint against the family to the Chief Magistrate. The child was brought immediately and proper action was taken against the family, said Faisal.

Another case which the advocate recalled is of a 15-year-old Rohingya girl who was sold in Delhi at Rs. 70,000 to a Kashmiri who married her when she came to Kashmir. The girl’s uncle contacted Faisal and a writ petition was filed by the advocate to rescue the girl.

According to Faisal, the consultancy agencies which bring minors to Kashmir violate many norms. They provide a fake list with numbers of fake parents of the minors, informed the advocate. “Most of the agencies claim that the child does not have a birth certificate and they consider them above 18.”

Even the families hiring minor helpers justify themselves by saying that without the family’s assistance the child would not even get food, said Faisal. Moreover, the money paid by the families is not paid to the minor but to their agents, asserted the advocate.

The Himalayan glaciers are in a melting pot

Kolahoi, the largest glacier in Kashmir and the originating point of two significant tributaries of river Jhelum - Lidder and Sindh is melting rapidly. A new research paper has revealed that the largest glacier of Kashmir has further reduced in the area over three years. The research compares the recent findings to that of a 2017 study.

“Kolahoi Glacier has rapidly receded due to climatic changes prevalent over the Kashmir region. The glacier has lost 23% area since 1962 and has fragmented into smaller parts,” the paper published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health of April 19, 2020, revealed.

Irfan Rashid one of the authors of the research said that besides climate warming they have also observed that aerosol concentrations especially black carbon is among the highest reported from the Himalayan glaciated landscapes.

Black Carbon is organic carbon that is wind-driven and deposited on the glacier surface. It is mostly from fossil fuel (automobiles, factories, brick kilns, etc) and firewood burning (charcoal making in autumn, firewood for burning, hammam's in winters).

On being asked about the local factors that have led to the rapid declining of the glacier in the valley, the assistant professor at the University of Kashmir said that tourism in Kashmir is one of the major factors in the rapid receding of the glaciers.

“The promotion of tourism in the alpine landscapes of Kashmir means more anthropogenic (resulting from the influence of human beings on nature) footprint and more biomass burning that are important factors contributing to enhanced aerosol/black carbon deposition and accelerated glacier melts,” revealed Rashid.

According to the research the Kolahoi glacier has been imbalanced between 1962 and 2018 and is not approaching equilibrium. Equilibrium is attained when the ablation and accumulation of snow on the glacier are the same.

The research mentioned the land system changes in the Lidder watershed. It also stated that the area under irrigation-intensive agriculture has shrunk by 39%, whereas the orchards have expanded by 177% from 1980 to 2017.

The land system changes in the Sindh watersheds are not mentioned in the paper. Though there have been changes in the land system in the Sindh watershed but since a dominant part of meltwaters from Kolahoi Glacier is released into Lidder, the research team thought it was better to focus on Lidder watershed, said Rashid.

“Nonetheless, it would be scientifically interesting to look at the land system changes on the other side of the watershed divide (Sindh),” continued the author.

While the research only took Kolahoi glacier as a point of study, there are other glaciers in Kashmir like Thajiwas group of glaciers, Nehnar, Hoksar which are in a much worse condition, stressed Rashid.

“The Kashmir valley glaciers are showing accelerated retreat as compared to the rest of the Hindukush Himalaya,” said Ulfat Majeed another author of the research. Small-sized glaciers, clean glaciers (glaciers without debris), and the glaciers associated with proglacial lakes are showing greater retreat rates in the valley added Majeed.

As the world is proceeding with new ideas and technologies, what it might be forgetting, in the long run, is the environment. The Himalayan glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate and there is an acceleration of ice loss across the Himalayan glaciers over the past 40 years mentioned a study published in 2019.

“Himalayas have experienced significant ice loss over the past 40 years, with the average rate of ice loss twice as rapid in the 21st century compared to the end of the 20th century,” the study revealed.

The glaciers of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region that produces water for around 40% of the world’s population has lost mass due to climate change and they are predicted to lose more in the future, claimed another study.

“Glacier across Himalaya are receding at a never before pace if we look at the course of human history,” said Rashid. But glaciers in the Karakoram, on the contrary, have been reported to be generally stable, continued the assistant professor.

He said that the glaciers in the northwestern region (Kashmir) and the eastern Himalayas were reported to be receding at a higher pace as compared to other regions of the Himalayan arc.

Glaciers form an intricate part of the ecosystem feeding the rivers and serve as a “hydrological buffer” for ecology, agriculture, and hydropower, especially in High Mountain Asia. The melting of glaciers not only impacts the streamflow but also affects all the water-dependent sectors of the economy like hydropower, agriculture, tourism, and many others.

“In a warming scenario, we might also see the formation of glacial lakes some of which might translate into glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) putting the downstream life and infrastructure at risk” said Rashid.

Flash floods caused by glacial lakes are called GLOF It occurs when the moraine or rock wall in a glacial lake collapses. A collapse can take place for various reasons including when a large amount of water is deposited in the lake due to unstable melting of the glaciers.

Some of the smaller GLOFs have been reported from the Ladakh and Karakoram regions but it is highly likely that the frequency of GLOFs may increase in the future owing to the receding pattern of glaciers, said Majeed.

The reverse phenomenon could also occur once the glaciers have lost a substantial amount of mass leading to no water to release. Rivers dependent on the glaciers would diminish resulting in a drought condition impacting agriculture and various developmental activities.

In 1929, a GLOF from the Chong Khumdan Glacier in the Karakoram caused flooding on the Indus river 1,200 km downstream.

While the condition of the environment is deteriorating at an alarming rate, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic brought some relief to the environment.

The Dhauladhar mountain range of Himachal was visible from Jalandhar, Punjab during the pandemic lockdown due to improvement in air quality. While pictures of the Himalayas were making round on social media, it might not be an exaggeration to say that the environment was healing when the humans were suffering.

Speaking about the effect of lockdown on the glaciers, Majeed said, “Any reduction in the carbon and anthropogenic footprint on or near the glaciers helps improve their health.” But it is important to note that glacier won’t change state in a day, continued Majeed.

To quote Robert Swan, the first man in history to walk to both the North and South Poles, “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

As the world celebrates World Environment Day on June 5, it is very essential to keep working at an individual level to save the environment and don’t rely on others to save the planet.

For the sustenance of these important ice reserves, it is imperative to have a robust state policy to monitor them in space and time said, Majeed. The Ph.D. student at the University of Kashmir stressed that besides monitoring ice reserves, a check on the hazards posed by them is a prerequisite for the mitigation of the risk that a hazard could pose to the downstream population.

Kashmir tourism heads towards “Stone Age” amid continuous lockdowns

Majid Imtiyaz started his dream project of opening a café at Sopore, Baramulla, in 2017. He rented a feasible spot and took loans from the bank to bear the expenses. Hampered by the frequent lockdowns and limited resources, his dream project was completed in August 2019. To advertise the café, he organized a pre-opening event "Coffee & Qalaam" which had a good turnout. Unknown to the unfortunate time that lay ahead Imtiyaz decided to open his café “Mann te Salva” on August 8, 2019.

Just three days before the opening of the café, the government revoked the special status of Kashmir that resulted in curfew, slowdown, and internet blockade leaving the valley halted and stagnant. Imtiyaz was shattered and decided to go to Delhi. The owner of the café started working in a call center to earn some money.

In January he got a call from his family, reassuring that the condition in Kashmir has started stabilizing. He went back to his hometown and finally his dream project was live on February 8. Little did he know that there was another lockdown hovering over Kashmir. “Mann te Salva” was closed after a month of obeying the lockdown rules set by the government to limit the spread of the pandemic. Imtiyaz was again left in despair with hefty expenses.
“This is the story of almost all the restaurants, cafes, food joints & hotels especially in Kashmir” emphasized Imtiyaz.

Picture Credits: Coffee & Qalaam Fb page 

Tourism which is the backbone of Kashmir fell after the government decided to abolish its semi-autonomous status on August 5, 2019, along with a communication clampdown in anticipation of unrest. According to the Preliminary Economic Loss Assessment Report by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries which took into account 10 districts for 120 days from August 5, 2019, to December 3, 2019, found out that the tourism sector has incurred a loss of Rs 1056.3264 crores

Tour Agents

Many Kashmiri tourist agents were hoping for a good turnout of tourists this spring season but the lockdown implemented to limit the spread of coronavirus left them with empty houseboats and hotels starring at them. House to Asia’s largest Tulip garden, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Garden (IGMG), Kashmir has never been so dreary in decades. The tulip blooms which last only for one month is a major tourist attraction for domestic and foreign tourists but with the lockdown, there is no spectator for them. 

“I am jobless since August 2019,” said Ayoub Rather, owner of Premier tour and travels. According to him from 2015-2020 only 2018 was a good year for tourism in the valley. The travel agent’s only source of livelihood was tourism which was affected badly, leaving him and his family in a state of distress. 

Rather was hoping for good business during the spring season. “I received many bookings from November,” said the travel agent, hoping he would be able to achieve his target for the current year and might cover the loss he faced in the last year.

Picture Credits: Premier Tour & Travel Fb page 

Riyaz Ahmed who runs a homestay in Nigeen Lake compared the current time in the valley with zero business and a slow internet connection to the stone age. “There are 15 members in my family,” said Ahmed, adding, “how can I feed them when I have no source of income?” Ahmed’s family is associated with the tourism business for centuries but the prevailing conditions have forced him to think about changing the trade.

Hoteliers

Hoteliers, pony walas, dhabawalas, restaurants, shopkeepers, guiding personnel, labors are completely shattered as the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the Valley in March.

“We are totally paralyzed,” said Anwar Wangnoo, owner of Wangnoo Sheraton Group. He claimed that the houseboats which used to host around one thousand people have received no guests in 10 months. “There is no fun to have a houseboat without tourism,” said the owner. 

The Wanganoo Sheraton group has a chain of houseboats and they deal with international clients. “Since 2014 we are dealing with overseas tourists from Malaysia and Thailand. This year we were going to approach Vietnam but luck is not with us,” said Wangnoo.

Picture Credits: Trip Advisor

People working in the tourism sector were considered to be the richest in the valley, said Sameer Teli, “but those days are a dream now’. The hotelier is struggling to feed his family and take care of his kids. “I am not able to provide medicines to my family because of cash crunch,” complained Teli, “leaving them to die because of my helplessness.”

Adventure Sports Tourism

Known for its adventurous sports, Kashmir valley is a famous destination amongst people for trekking. The valley has many unexplored treks that are only known to the local people but with the continuous lockdown, adventurous sports business has been in limbo.

Saddam Hussain who runs a trekking company Mountain and Dreams in Sonmarg incurred a loss of approximately 4 lakhs when the valley was put under a political lockdown. The peak season for trekking starts in July and he had bookings of 22 groups consisting of 15 each people for the treks. “As soon as the trekking season started, Article 370 was removed,” said the trekker, “resulting in canceling of all the bookings.”

Picture Credits: Fb page

Kashmir doesn’t have big malls or industries but it has a natural beauty that is praised worldwide, said Anayat Hussain, General Secretary at Jammu & Kashmir Society for Trekking and Environmental Preservation. “Trekking is a big chain,” emphasized Hussain, adding, “not only hotel and dhabbawalas are benefited from it but also small vegetable vendors, porters, rickshaw and many more people are attached to this business.” They are all interlinked with each other said the general secretary.

Taxi Service

A majority of tourists in the valley relied on taxi service for the journey. With continuous lockdown, taxi companies are burdened with loans.

Unable to pay his instalments on time, Wasim Ahmed Bhat, owner of Kashmir Tourism Cabs has to pay a double amount to the bank. Bhat has employed many local people through his taxi service but with the lockdown in the valley, his business has come to a standstill. “Locals don’t take Fortuner or Innova for traveling,” said Bhat, adding, “these cars are meant for tourists.” But with the lockdown, these cars are resting in the garage.

Picture Credit: Kashmir Tourism Cabs Website  

Initiatives by the government

To promote tourism in the valley post abrogation of article 370, J&K Tourism Department provided financial assistance to organize 12 promotional events in various cities across India claimed Mushtaq Reshi, General Secretary of Domestic Tour Operators.

Domestic Tour Operators are tourism associations that are linked with the J&K tourism department. These associations are headed by an executive body. If there is any issue with tourism in the valley, the members of the association can talk to the higher authorities.

Reshi who is also a Managing Director of Essence Holidays Pvt. Ltd. organized a promotional event in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. It was the best event out of the 12 events organized by the associations, claimed the general secretary. The promotional event was meant to create tie-ups with travel companies who in return will send people to Kashmir for tourism.

The event which took place on February 6 was aimed to bring more people to the valley but it turned out to be a “wastage of money” due to the onslaught of the contagion, complained Reshi. The association had spent Rs. 9.35 lakh for the event out of which Rs. 7 lakhs were to be paid by the government.

Slow Internet

Apart from continuous lockdowns, Kashmir is also struggling with a slow internet connection. After revoking the semi-autonomous state of Kashmir, the UT was under a communication clampdown.

Following the Supreme Court order on January 10, 2019, the J&K government announced it would restore 2G mobile data on post-paid mobile phones in all districts in Kashmir. But access was only allowed to a few selected websites as per the order, leaving internet curbs largely unchanged.

Rather, the travel agent from Srinagar spent four months in Chandigarh to generate leads due to the communication blackout in the valley spending a hefty amount. Hoping the money, he spent on traveling and hotel would be reimbursed during 2020, the travel agent was devastated when the pandemic hit the valley.

Similarly, Wagnoo had to ask his relatives living in other parts of the country to handle the bookings for Wangnoo Sheraton Group.

Advertising for a new business is very important but Saddam was not able to promote his trekking company due to a slow internet connection in the valley. Struggling to get customers since 2019, the trekker was exploring new treks for tourists. “I explored a new trek in my village,” said Saddam, “but I failed to upload the video on YouTube due to the 2G network.”

The whole world is turning into a global village but Kashmir is excluded from it, complained Anayat. “I think Kashmir is not a part of the digital India initiative promoted by the PM.” He believed that it sends a bad signal to customers when the internet is not working in the valley.

Slow internet connection has deteriorated the relationship between the hoteliers and the customers, complained Mushtaq Pahalgami, President at Pahalgam Hotel and Guest House Owners association. “When people asked for pictures of the property, we send it in the morning,” said Pahalgami. But till evening the pictures didn’t get delivered. According to Pahalgami this creates a negative impact on the customer’s mind and they think, “if the internet is not working, everything is not normal in the valley”.

Lack of a local government

A majority of people in the tourism sector said that the valley lacks a strong local government who could raise issues of Kashmiris?

“Local representative understands the pain of people,” reflected Pahalgami because they know the ground reality. Controlling Kashmir from Delhi is not helping people of the valley. “When our political leaders are in jail how can we get our problems solved.”

The Sheikh ul-Alam International airport operates only Hajj flights as international flights. Anayat recalled that during the tenure of the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, it was announced to make Srinagar airport as an international airport with flight connectivity to various countries to boost tourism but nothing happened after that.

In 2018, Kashmir had received 316,434 tourists between August and December. In 2019, this number fell to 43,059 for the same period, a decline of 86% showed tourism department data accessed by IndiaSpend.

Present condition

On being asked about the present condition of the valley, a tourism lecturer at Sri Pratap College said anonymously that due to the pandemic lockdown, local tourism has also come to a halt. “There is zero percent activity in the valley and people are made to go on compulsory leave without pay,” emphasized the lecturer.

According to him, the government should exit the lockdown and announce a tourism booster package for the valley for maintenance of infrastructure, paying loans, and spending in new ventures.

Since a majority of the people in the valley are dependent on tourism, the lecturer believed that all stakeholders should look at the matter sincerely. To gain the confidence of tourists and bring back Kashmir to its glory it is important to revive tourism, insisted the lecturer, adding, “to revive tourism there should be a political will.”