Category: Environment

Environment

HC concerned over lack of sensitivity towards Dal

Editor

Says lake will be non-existent if measures are not taken for its preservation Taking a strong note of the “lack of sensitivity” on part of the authorities, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court today said the world famous Dal Lake, which is shrinking and dying, will be non-existent in the near future if immediate steps for its preservation are not taken. “From 2002, this court has made earnest and vigorous efforts to ensure preservation of the world famous Dal Lake. Because of the lack of sensitivity on part of some…

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Kishen Ganga wildlife sanctuary project in limbo

Editor

The proposed Kishen Ganga Wildlife Sanctuary project is in limbo despite getting the nod from Government of India to declare compartments of Gurez Forest Range of Forest Territorial Division Bandipora as “ Wildlife Protected Area” since the area has rich flora and fauna. These compartments included compartment number: k/ 42, k/ 45, k/ 46, k/ 47a, k/ 47b, k/ 48, k/ 49, parts of k/ 50, k/ 51b, k/ 51c, k/ 52, k/ 53, k/ 54, k/ 55 and k/ 56 of Gurez Forest Range comprising an area of 108.22…

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Guv to review dredging of Jhelum

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Running behind the schedule, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department may have to answer some tough questions as Governor NN Vohra is scheduled review the dredging work in the Jhelum during his day-long visit to Kashmir on Tuesday. It has been 17 months since the devastating floods hit the Valley in 2014, but the authorities concerned are yet to carry out the full-fledged dredging of the river. Last month, a Kolkata-based firm was roped in by the government to carry out the pending work. An official acknowledged that so far…

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The shrinking Wular lake a matter of concern

Editor

All is not well with Wular Lake in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, which has been identified as one of the 26 Ramsar sites in the country. Over the past many decades, it has suffered heavily due to siltation, conversion of 40 per cent of the lake area into agricultural land, pollution from fertilisers, highly degraded catchment area and encroachment along its banks. These factors have reduced the size of the lake from 157 sq km in 1911 to 86 sq km in…

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Jhelum embankment stretch crumbles at Shivpora

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A large stretch of embankment of river Jhelum at Shivpora here crumbled due to rains last night. Shivpora was one of the worst affected areas during devastating floods in September 2014. Authorities had plugged breaches, however due to rains, a vast stretch of embankment has caved in. The locals mince no words to accuse the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department of failing to strengthen the damaged embankment. “The authorities are focusing on dredging and have failed to permanently repair the embankments,” said a group of locals pointing towards cracks…

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Rs 399 cr to be spent for restoration of Jhelum

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Embankments along Jhelum which the swollen river breached in 2014 causing devastating floods, will be restored and other remedial measures taken up at a cost of Rs 399 crore over the next two years, a senior government official said. “Rs 140 crore will be set aside for land and structure acquisition, Rs 40 crore for building two bridges, Rs 35 crore for dredging and the rest for allied works,” Commissioner Secretary Public Works Rohit Kansal said. Kansal, who took stock of the progress of dredging work of river Jhelum and…

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Deadly reminders: J&K on shaky ground

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• Ominous Signs: From 7 tremors in 2010, the number of earthquakes felt in the State reached 27 in 2015 • 105 minor and major tremors have jolted J&K since 2009 The graph of earthquakes hitting Jammu and Kashmir has reached all time high with 27 tremors felt in the state last year. As per the official data, 105 minor and major tremors have jolted the state since 2009. The threat of earthquake looms large in the state, particularly in the areas coming under Seismic Zone V. As per the…

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SMC messes up solid waste management at Achan

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Failure of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to undertake scientific disposal of solid waste of Srinagar at Achan garbage dump has pushed the summer capital on the verge of an environmental disaster. At a time when experts have raised red flag over feasibility of much-hyped waste-to-energy project at Achan, the SMC has failed to put in place mechanism for scientific disposal of the solid waste. On an average 400 metric tons of solid garbage is produced per day in Srinagar. Taking cognizance of unscientific methods to dispose of waste at Achan,…

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Declining snowfall triggers concern

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Global warming coupled with overexploitation of resources is impacting Kashmir’s weather pattern and snowfall timings, an official report has said, blaming “unplanned urbanization, encroachment of wetlands and rapid deforestation” for these alterations. The official report titled ‘State Action Plan on Climate Change’ mentions that Kashmir Valley is recording “unusual shift in snowfall timings” as the summer capital (Srinagar) is witnessing less snowfall in December and January—ideally considered as peak winter months with temperature dipping below freezing point. However for the past couple of years, these months have witnessed less or…

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Dredging from Jhelum, spill channel outsourced

Editor

The Irrigation and Flood Control (IFC) Department, Kashmir, has outsourced dredging from the Jhelum and its spill channel to a private company, which is expected to begin the work later this week. The department is aiming to reach a target of dredging eight lakh cubic metres of debris from the river by the end of March. The department has so far dredged six lakh cubic metres of soil and silt from the river and its spill channel and expects to dredge further before the water level rises again, Mir Javed,…

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