Environment Archives | Page 18 of 45

High Court issues notice to Govt, Power Grid Corp against cutting of forest trees

September 15, 2018September 15, 2018 Editor

The High Court on Friday issued notice to the Power Grid Corporation of India and the Jammu and Kashmir government on a Public Interest Litigation petition against cutting down of thousands of trees in the Sindh forests for laying 220KV Srinagar-Leh transmission line. Division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Dhiraj Singh Thakur issued the notice to the Jammu and Kashmir government through its Chief Secretary. Notice was also issued to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests J&K, Secretary Forest Department, Divisional Forest Officer, Ganderbal, Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, General Manager,…

Famed Dal Lake may get new lease of life

August 7, 2018 Editor

The Dal, a famed lake at the heart of Kashmir’s holidaying industry which serves as a quiet host to thousands of tourists, has drastically degraded and its water has become unhealthy. The lake may now get a new lease of life as Governor NN Vohra has taken a proactive position by ordering a series of corrective measures and scientific recourse to conserve it. Once a favourite spot to shoot Bollywood songs, the Dal Lake is now a dirty shadow of its past and its large expanses are now covered with…

Rise in temperature leading drop in Jhelum level

August 6, 2018 Editor

The day temperature in the Kashmir valley has registered a significant increase and has been several degrees above normal in the last week leading to a drop in the water level of the Jhelum. The maximum temperature across the region, including in the meadow resorts, has been above the normal for the past week, according to the data of the Indian Meteorological department. In Srinagar, the maximum temperature on Saturday was recorded at 35.1°C, which was six degrees above normal. In north Kashmir’s Gulmarg resort, the maximum temperature was 22°C,…

Jhelum – Once Kashimir Valley’s lifeline, now dying a slow death

July 27, 2018 Editor

Unplanned urbanisation, govt apathy, changing climate major reasons Once the lifeline of the Kashmir valley, the Jhelum is now facing a series of challenges originating from unplanned urbanisation, apathy of successive governments and changing climatic patterns. The river’s water level over the last one year has been a cause for concern and also an indicator of drought as the region has received largely deficient precipitation during the monsoon and winter seasons. Jhelum — the main river in the Kashmir region which has 24 tributaries that source it with water supply…

Surrounded by glaciers, Kashmir faces drought-like conditions as precipitation levels dwindle

July 16, 2018 Editor

In 2002, the Jammu and Kashmir government set up a water-treatment plant at Pokhribal in Srinagar to supply drinking water from the Dal Lake to the households of the area. But local people objected saying the lake water was unfit for consumption, so the government changed the water source to a nearby freshwater stream. But, in the last decade, despite getting even more polluted, the Dal Lake has again become a source of drinking water for a significant portion of the city. The state’s Public Health Engineering (PHE) department, which…

Wular has lost its primary function of flood absorption basin for Jhelum

July 16, 2018July 16, 2018 Editor

Not so long ago Wular in Bandipore was considered to be one of the largest freshwater lakes in Aisa, acting as a natural flood reservoir for Jhelum River to prevent floods in the Valley. Today, the lake is however gasping for survival as years of encroachment and siltation are posing a mortal threat to its existence. Notwithstanding these challenges, the government continues to sit over implementation of an ambitious multi-crore project to dredge the heavily silted Wular, a key component of lake’s massive conservation project, and restore its lost glory.…

Heavy rains likely across Kashmir Valley in next few days

June 27, 2018 Editor

Kashmir is likely to receive downpour over the next few days with the state weather department predicting heavy rainfall at isolated places in the region. A spell of rain is expected to begin tonight or tomorrow and will intensify across many parts of the Valley from Thursday, the Srinagar Meteorological Centre said in its forecast bulletin on Tuesday. The Centre’s forecast said fairly widespread rainfall was likely across the Kashmir valley between Thursday and Saturday, while rainfall at scattered locations was expected tomorrow. It also warned that heavy rainfall was…

Heavy militarization of Kashmir Valley risking Environment, Ecology

June 6, 2018 Editor

Policy Group, civil society ask Govt to adopt concrete measures to save environment Several members of Environment Policy Group (EPG) and civil society Monday asked the government to adopt concrete measures to save the environment from degradation. Holding placards and banners, Environmental Policy Group (EPG) in coordination with various tour operators, civil society members, FCIK members, Earth day network and eco-peace resource members held a demonstration at Pratap Park to put the focus on environmental concerns. The members said the government has shown no seriousness to save the environment and…

What happens to the plastic you throw away every day?

June 5, 2018 Editor

In the absence of proper segregation of waste inside homes, the danger from hazardous plastics falls on the trash collectors, most of whom are poorly paid. And, landfills are still non-scientific dump sites that pose grave threats to land and water resources M Khokhan Hamid, 39, hasn’t told his children what he does for a living. Shame keeps Hamid from telling them that every day he goes door-to-door collecting garbage. “People think we are unclean,” he said, weaving through the neat lanes of Pandara road on a customised rickshaw. As…

Dal Lake gets dull as waste dumping goes on

June 2, 2018 Editor

“Perhaps in the whole world, there is no corner as pleasant as the Dal Lake,” said Sir Walter Lawrence in his book ‘Valley of Kashmir’. But today, the Dal Lake, which used to be the top attraction for tourists in Kashmir, has turned into a dumping ground for tonnes of waste and sewage. The rising pollution and high-nutrient load continues to flow and gather on the surface of the water, which locals used for drinking decades ago. Boatmen and houseboat owners say the lake is no more soothing to the…