More than 1.10 lakh private trees of Apple, Chinar, Walnut, Mullberry among other species valued at Rs 13.76 crore have been chopped down by the NHAI to lay down the Srinagar Ring Road, an RTI reply has revealed. The response received by RTI activist Raman Sharma from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on his queries said over 1,200 more private trees which form the lush green cover of the Valley will be chopped down in the coming days to build the new tarmac around Srinagar. The NHAI did…
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Environment
Single-Use Plastic: GoI gears up to enforce ban in J&K
Countrywide ban on manufacture, import, distribution, use from July 1 With India implementing a blanket ban on single-use plastic items from July 1 this year, the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) today issued public notice prohibiting production, stocking, distribution, sale and use of single use plastic in the Union Territory. The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change had issued notification No. G.S.R. 571 (E) on August 12, 2021 by virtue of which manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single use plastic (SUP) items shall…
Read MoreHeat wave grips Kashmir; Srinagar sizzles at 34°C, Monsoon to arrive by July 1
The capital city of Srinagar recorded the hottest day of this season on Wednesday as the mercury touched 34°C mark, even as the meteorological office here predicted light to moderate rains in Jammu and Kashmir. Today’s temperature was over 0.8°C higher than yesterday and 3.4°C above the normal for this time of the season, a MET official said. It also remained third highest in the last 12 years in Srinagar. On 9 June 2021, Srinagar recorded 34.7°C. The highest June temperature in Srinagar in the last 12 years was 35°C…
Read MoreWular Lake: Asia’s largest freshwater lakes is blanketed with waste and silt
Severe pollution in Wular lake is eroding the natural habitat of native plants and fish species. By: Umer Ahmed Hailed as one of Asia’s largest freshwater lakes, Wular is shrinking with an urgency hard to reverse. A flood basin for the Kashmir Valley, parts of the lake have turned into shallow streams, with vast expanses of the area covered in silt and dotted with solid waste. Around 34 km away from Srinagar, Wular lake in the Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, has shrunk by 45% in about 100 years,…
Read MoreJ&K recorded 80% rainfall than normal this year: MeT
The IMD said that this year J&K received largely 80% deficient rain due to the absence of any strong western disturbance or the winds blowing from the Mediterranean bringing moisture. Jammu and Kashmir recorded 80 percent less rainfall than normal this year, weather officials said on Sunday. They said that this year J&K received largely 80% deficient rain due to the absence of any strong western disturbance or the winds blowing from the Mediterranean bringing moisture. Sonam Lotus, director of the meteorological center, J&K, said that the cities of Jammu…
Read MoreAt 27.6°C Srinagar saw warmest March in 131 years: Experts
Srinagar recorded the warmest temperatures in the month of March in 131 years, weather analysts said, while referring to the data being maintained since 1891 Srinagar recorded the warmest temperatures in the month of March in 131 years, weather analysts said, while referring to the data being maintained since 1891. “We recorded a maximum temperature of 27.6°C in March 2022, the highest since the data was started to be recorded in 1891. In March 1971, we had seen a highest of 27.3°C,” said Mohammad Hussain Mir, a meteorologist at the…
Read MoreShrinking Wular threatens local livelihoods
For centuries, Lake Wular has been a major source of food and income for thousands of Kashmiris. But widespread pollution, mining, and dam construction are putting the region’s fishing community at risk. Every morning before sunrise, 36-year-old fisherman Naseer Dar takes his boat out to Lake Wular, one of the largest freshwater lakes in Indian-administered Kashmir. Nestled amid the Himalayas, the lake spreads over 130-square-kilometers between the Baramulla and Bandipora districts in north Kashmir. Thousands of Kashmiris depend on the lake’s fish and chestnuts. But with increasing siltation, Lake Wular…
Read MoreAs visibility improves flight operations resume at Srinagar airport
After remaining suspended for the entire day yesterday, flight operations at Srinagar airport resumed on Thursday after improvement in visibility, officials said. “Visibility has improved to 1500M. Flight operations are commencing at Srinagar airport,” Director, Airports Authority of India, Srinagar, Kuldeep Singh said in a statement. An official said that the Spicejet flight SG 160 landed at Srinagar after improvement invisibility. Many flights were delayed and a few were canceled at the airport this morning due to poor visibility caused by the inclement weather conditions. On Wednesday, 41 flights were…
Read MoreBrengi Water Stream: How a flowing stream disappeared into the sinkhole in Kokernag
A 20-km-long stretch of the Brengi water stream has suddenly disappeared in Kashmir after it was swallowed by a massive sinkhole, leaving locals concerned A famous Kashmir trout stream has vanished into a sinkhole spreading fear in the south Kashmir Kokernag area. As per reported information, the 20-km-long stretch of the Brengi water stream has been draining into a sinkhole since early this week; the phenomenon has left the downstream portion dry, killing fish in large numbers. We take a look at what happened, its effect on the environment, what…
Read MoreThis year amid warmer temperatures migratory birds leaving Kashmir earlier
Owing to warmer temperatures and decreased precipitation in Kashmir this winter, migratory birds have started leaving the Himalayan valley early this year Wildlife officials say that there has been a marginal decrease in the number of migratory birds this year, compared to last winter, as there has been a dip in rain and snowfall. This was observed in a census of migratory and other endemic birds nesting in the valley wetlands conducted by wildlife officials and experts on February 12. “We are yet to arrive on the final figures, but…
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