On Tuesday, social media platforms in Kashmir were flooded with a video of an elderly woman wailing near the Mughal era Achabal Garden, a site famous for its pristine springs. In the video, she pleads for God’s mercy to restore the springs’ flow.
The springs, located in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, have almost dried up as the water levels in its sources have significantly dipped due to a protracted dry spell-spell. The springs serve as a key source of drinking water to nearly two dozen villages in the area.
Mohammad Ashraf, a resident, says that the area is staring at a major water crisis if the dry spell persists.
The water levels in crucial tributaries of the valley’s river Jhelum, which meanders through the heart of Srinagar have declined amidst a long-drawn-out dry spell.
The rivers and streams like Lidder, Brengi Nullah, Vehsu, Rambi Nallah and Romshoo have been running low since the onset of winter.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took to X and wrote, “J&K is staring at a water crisis this year. It’s not a recent phenomenon, actually it’s been building up for a few years now”.
He advocated for a proactive approach to water conservation.
“While the government will have to adopt a more proactive approach for water management & conservation, it can’t just be a government centric approach. All of us residents of J&K will have to change the way we take water for granted”, Abdullah posted.
He said that he would be reviving the measures the Jal Shakti (PHE) Department is planning to take to deal with the developing crisis.
A dry winter
For the second straight year, the Valley of Kashmir experienced an almost a dry winter.
Mukhtar Ahmad, Director of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for Jammu and Kashmir said that the region experienced a minus 76.87 per cent decline in precipitation between January 1 to February 6.
“Compared to normal 99.07 per cent precipitation, Kashmir saw an actual 22.91 per cent precipitation during this period,” reveals the data shared by the IMD Director.
Last year, Kashmir witnessed an almost snowless winter with only a few locations like Sinthan Top in Anantnag and Peer Ki Gali along the heritage Mughal road experiencing snowfall.
While the dry weather conditions took a toll on the water resources across the region, it has also affected winter sports and tourism.
On February 17, authorities postponed the 5th edition of the Khelo India Winter Games, which was scheduled to take place from February 22 to February 25 in Gulmarg. The decision was made due to insufficient snowfall at Gulmarg.
The event features a flurry of sports activities including skiing, alpine skiing, snow rugby, ice hockey and skating.
Farhat Naik, a prominent skier and snowboarding instructor told businessline that inadequate snowfall stymied all snow sports. “Some skiing slopes are even completely barren”, said Naik.
Tourist footfall has also declined at coveted tourist destinations like Gulmarg and Pahalgam.
A hotelier at Gulmarg said that there had been a 15 to 20 per cent dip in bookings. He attributed the low tourist inflow to inadequate snowfall.
Impact on agriculture
Tariq Rasool, Associate Professor at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) Kashmir told businessline that periodic dryness has become a norm now. He, however, cautioned that a prolonged dryness could severely damage the horticulture crops.
Ishfaq Ahmad, an apple cultivator from south Kashmir’s apple-rich Shopian village expressed serious apprehensions over the on-going dry weather conditions. “A rise in temperature could trigger early flowering and increase pest infestations”, he said.
Notably, over the last few weeks, the Valley recorded temperatures between 5 to 8 degrees Celsius above normal.