Devastating the Biodiversity

The environmental concerns are only getting louder by the day. At the same time there are no signs of stopping the activities that lead to the crises in this domain. Notwithstanding the global cry over the deterioration of water bodies, we are witnessing a continuous decline in the health of the waterbodies in Kashmir. True, government talks about it every now and then. No denying the fact that there are private organisations who work for restoration of water bodies in Kashmir.  The work of some individual warriors in this regard also cannot remain unacknowledged. But despite all this the problem persists.

One by one our water bodies are dying. Take the case of a major water body called Veshaw in the Kulgam district. It is a major tributary to the Jhelum, the main waterline of the valley. The recent report in this newspaper about the devastating impact on the biodiversity of this water body should ring the alarm bells. The diminishing production of the trout in this water body goes on to show that we have been merciless towards this waterbody.

The detail clearly reflect that the increased level of pollution is one huge contributor to this disturbance in the biodiversity of Veshaw. Another factor that has caused this devastation is the incessant riverbed mining. This issue has also surfaced up with great degree of prominence in the recent years. Unfortunately, it looks like that all the hue and cry raised by many quarters, and covered by the media, is not getting registered in the concerned quarters.

The civilian government in place must rise to the occasion and look into the matters related to our  waterbodies very seriously. It is not something that we can turn a blind eye to. The impact of pollution and excessive riverbed mining is robbing us off our water bodies. With the disappearance of these eco-assets we are risking all kinds of life in the valley. It is not just the aquatic life in the water bodies, but the entire biodiversity that will take a serious hit. It has already started happening, and there is no scope for us to relax on this.