Category: Environment

Environment

Massive construction going on in Gulmarg, tweets Omar

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Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today alleged that massive construction under the guise of “minor repairs” was being carried out in Gulmarg. “It’s terrible to see that under the guise of ‘minor repairs’ massive constructions are being carried out in Gulmarg,” Omar wrote on Twitter. Omar, who is the working president of the opposition National Conference, also accused the authorities of being “complicit” in allowing the constructions. Hotel and other private property owners had sought permission from the Gulmarg Development Authority earlier this year to carry out repairs of their…

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Shrine board mulls disposal of solid waste in eco-friendly way

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Following the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board today discussed the action plan for eco-friendly disposal of solid waste being generated en route the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. The shrine board convened a meeting of various stakeholders, including the residents of the Charanpaduka and Banganga areas, at the Spiritual Growth Centre in Katra to work out the action plan with regard to regularisation of equine movement on the track, disposal of mule dung and other solid wastes and cleaning of Banganga. The…

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Flood Aftermath: ‘Winter appropriate time for Jhelum dredging’

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The inaction by authorities to complete the dredging of river Jhelum and the spill channel so as to increase its carrying capacity, has become a cause of concern for local population. Srinagar city bore the brunt of last year’s floods as habitations on both sides of Jhelum were submerged for several weeks. On September 7 last year, the water level in Jhelum broke all records— crossing 33-feet at Sangam at Islamabad (Anantnag) in south Kashmir and 23-feet at Ram Munshi Bagh here. Due to the deluge, tons of silt from…

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Illegal construction resumes in Pahalgam

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Minister’s close aide flouts norms with impunity An influential hotelier has resumed construction work on a commercial complex in violation of the normsat Ganeshpora in Pahalgam allegedly at the behest of a senior cabinet minister. Ganeshpora along with 10 vicinities of Pahalgam like Gujrani Batkoot, Mawoora and Srechan were notified in 2013 and brought within the purview of Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA). Official sources in Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) told that the violator is using his political connections to evade action. “It’s open secret, he (violator) is violating the laid…

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LAWDA floats over troubled waters

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Illegal constructions go unabated Water channel filled with soil in Dal, officials in slumber In brazen violation of State High Court orders, massive encroachment is taking place in famed Dal Lake with ‘influential’ people extending encroachments in connivance with the officials of the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA). Ironically a water channel in the interiors of the Dal stretching from Chowdhary Bagh to Daga Mohalla has been filled up with soil and structures have been started coming up there. According to local news gathering agency CNS, the officials from…

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Proposal of ‘mini dams’ on Jhelum offshoots to avert 2014-like flood

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The J&K Government is contemplating to build “mini dams” on tributaries of river Jhelum to offload pressure on the water body in extreme situations and avert the 2014-like floods in Kashmir in future. The Flood Control Department Kashmir has started a feasibility exercise in this regard and is mulling to rope in expertise at international level for construction of water storage facilities, within the provisions of Indus Water Treaty, to address Kashmir’s vulnerability to floods. Chief Engineer of the Department JavedJaffer said the storage facilities would handle additional discharge from…

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Commissioner secys of 3 depts told to be present in court today

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DAL LAKE CONSERVATION The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has sought personal appearance of the Commissioner Secretaries of the Planning, Finance and Housing and Urban Development Departments tomorrow to explain the conduct of the government as for the conservation of the Dal Lake is concerned. The directions were passed today by a division bench of Justice Hasnain Masoodi and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey after perusal of the compliance report submitted by Lakes and Waterways Development Authority vice-chairman Sarmad Hafiz, who was present in the court today. The Lakes and Waterways…

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Ragpickers get tips on segregation of waste material

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The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) in association with a non-governmental organisation is training ragpickers for effective collection of segregated garbage. “The SMC in association with Chintan, an NGO involved in the betterment of environment through the solid waste management, has involved ragpickers assisted by the Municipal waste collectors for segregating waste at household level,” said an SMC official. The official said trainers from Chintan had already started providing training to the local waste collectors and ragpickers for effective collection of segregated garbage from households. He said it would help the…

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Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project a BOOM Or a Disaster in Making

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Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project a BOOM Or a Disaster in Making The famous Kishanganga project has already casted its shadow over flora & fauna of district Bandipora, which includes the famous Wullar Lake, centuries old pines are being cut and all ironically done at the cost of development. Sane voices are worried that serene environ of Bandipora , Water bodies are being polluted, rare fish species are dying due to poisonous discharges from the project sites. All these activities are going under the noose of district administration, who is terming this disaster as…

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Govt has ‘no funds’ to save Kashmir from floods

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Jammu and Kashmir government seems to have not learnt any lessons from the devastating floods of 2014 as it has failed to carry out dredging in river Jhelum and removing encroachments on its banks despite passing of a year since the deluge wreaked havoc in Kashmir. Experts had warned the government to carry out dredging of the river and its tributaries on fast-track basis as the floods had brought in tonnes of silt. But as per officials in the irrigation and flood control department, the opportunity to carry out the…

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