Category: Environment

Environment

Thundershowers, Isolated rain likely over J&K in next 24 hours

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Isolated rain and thundershowers are expected over the parts of Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours, Skymetweather.com reported on Monday. The weather portal reported that presently, a ‘feeble Western Disturbance is seen over northern parts of Jammu and Kashmir.’ “Due to this weather system, isolated rain and thundershowers are expected over northern districts of Jammu and Kashmir region during the next 24 hours,” the report said. It said places such as Kupwara, Srinagar, Baramulla, Kargil will witness scattered rains within the span of next 24 hours. “After 24…

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Jhelum water level reaches record low of six decades

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The Jhelum registered a new low in its recorded history as the water level dropped 0.65 feet below the zero point on Tuesday, making it the lowest drop in the past six decades. The water level of minus 0.65 feet is the “lowest gauge ever recorded at the Sangam site,” said officials of the Irrigation and Flood Control (IFC) Department. The depth was recorded at 9 am and immediately announced by the department as the lowest-ever. The department has been maintaining the daily record of the river’s water level since…

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Kashmir Valley received season’s first light snowfall in upper reaches

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The upper reaches of Kashmir received first light snowfall of the season, resulting in chill in the plains, including the summer capital Srinagar where people were seen wearing woollens and warm clothes on Friday. The upper reaches including Amarnath cave shrine and its periphery, Sheshnag, Mahagunas, Pisso top and Panjtarni received snowfall this evening. Light snowfall was also received at Zojila on Srinagar-Leh highway, connecting Ladakh region with Kashmir. The upper heights in Sonmarg and Baltal, base camp of Amarnath cave, also received snowfall. Kishtwar’s upper reaches including Naginsheeris also…

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Authorities sit on restoration of flood spill channels

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Flood control authorities have done little to clear the flood spill channel of sediments and encroachments, which will go a long way in minimising flood threat to Srinagar. The little restoration work at a few places is not enough if a flood of the scale of 2014 hits the Valley, say experts. The channel starts from Padshahi bagh and flows into Wullar Lake in Bandipora district. It regulates Jhelum water level while it passes through Srinagar city. “This needs to be restored to its original area by removing deposited sediments…

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Willow trees caught out as culprit for Kashmir lake’s woes

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More than 2 million willow trees–once a key source of wood for cricket bats, fruit boxes and fires–will be cut down around Kashmir’s Wular Lake, as part of efforts to revive the region’s largest flood basin. Overlooked by the Himalayas, Wular, one of Asia’s biggest freshwater lakes, sits 34 km (21 miles) northwest of Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar. Known for its deep, pristine waters, the lake has suffered extensive degradation in recent decades. In a 2007 study, conservation group Wetlands International said the lake originally covered an area of nearly…

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National Green Tribunal annoyed over delay in waste-to-energy plant at Achan

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The delay in commissioning of Jammu and Kashmir’s first waste-to-energy plant in Srinagar has miffed the National Green Tribunal which has warned the state government of slapping an exemplary cost for taking “unjustifiable” adjournments in the matter. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said the plant at Achan was of great public importance as the city was generating a huge quantity of municipal waste–about 450 metric tonnes per day. The green panel remarked that if urgent steps were not taken to set up the plant, then the…

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High Court directs BOCA to give comments on EIA of Sonamarg Master Plan

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The High Court on Tuesday directed Building Operations Controlling Authority (BOCA) of Sonamarg to expeditiously give its comments on draft report of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Sonamarg Master Plan (2017) and submit the same within two weeks to the concerned authority. A division bench of Chief justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey directed the BOCA to give its comments on the draft report after it was informed that the report has been placed before the authority for its comments. The court ordered that the matter be…

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Authorities direct for closure of 51 Brick kilns around Srinagar Airport

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Acting on the directions of High Court regarding relocation of Brick Kiln located around Srinagar Airport, authorities today directed for closure of 51 brick kilns around it. “In adhering the Court’s direction regarding relocation of Brick Kiln located around the Airport, so that the visibility particularly during October and November could be increased, the deputy commissioner Budgam in exercise of the powers vested under him in terms of Section 26 of J&K Brick Kiln (Regulation) Act.2010 has ordered the close down of kiln activities of 51 brick kiln owners, 34…

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Army’s Warfare School coming up without permission in Sonamarg

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Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday informed the High Court that a High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) is being set up by Army without permission in tourist resort Sonamarg even as the Court directed the Army to produce the permission documents before it on September 11. While chief executive officer Sonamarg Development Authority told a division bench of Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey that the Army is raising constriction of HAWS unauthorisedly and without permission from BOCA at Neelgrath in Sonamarg, assistant solicitor general Tahir…

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Make Dal Lake’s surface visible: High Court to Authorities

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Seeking a report indicating the progress in the removal of water lilies from the Dal Lake, the J&K High Court has directed the authorities concerned to continue the process of weeding so that the lake surface is clearly visible. Earlier on August 13, the High Court had given the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) three months to take out lilies from the lake. The court is hearing a public interest litigation on the conservation and preservation of the Dal Lake and the adjoining Nigeen Lake. The court during the…

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