How can our elected govt allow a highway via Yusmarg & Doodhpathri?
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways -MoRTH is planning to build a highway from Rajouri to Baramulla that will pass through Poonch, Shopian, Pulwama and Budgam districts. The highway will pass alongside Mughal Road upto Shopian but from there it will move towards west and enter Yusmarg via Kellar Shadimarg. This 70 feet wide highway will not only pass through major apple producing villages of Shopian, Pulwama and Budgam. It will further enter into the forest ranges of Doodh Ganga and Raithan in Pir Panjal Forest Division Budgam. This will destroy the local biodiversity and livelihood of farmers plus pastoralist communities as well, like Gujjars, Bakerwals and Chopans.
About the highway
The Ministry of Road Transport and highways- MoRTH has handed over this road construction to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). On 28th October 2024 the Ministry through its Regional Officer in Jammu, assigned the task of engaging a consultant to provide Project Management Consultancy (PMC) services. This includes conducting a feasibility study, preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR), providing pre-construction services, and overseeing construction work.
After crossing the forests of Yusmarg and Doodhpathri the road will cross via another eco-sensitive zone of Sukhnag forest range and then reach Beerwah and Magam. Media reports say that from Magam the proposed highway will be connected with Gulmarg and Baramulla. The highway will be built at an estimated cost around Rs 3,300 crore, and will link the Rajouri and Poonch districts in the Jammu division with the Kashmir Valley via the existing Mughal Road. This 70 feet highway is being designated as National Highway-NH 701A. The section between Surankote (Poonch) to Magam in Budgam will be 159 km long and will pass through tourist destinations of Yusmarg and Doodhpathri.
Impact on Apple farms, forests and wildlife
The proposed highway will be disastrous as this will impact the apple farms and entire biodiversity in the upper reaches of Shopian, Pulwama and Budgam districts. Thousands of apple trees would have to be axed for this project in more than two dozen villages in Shopian, Pulwama and Budgam districts. It will affect the livelihood of thousands of families who are associated with apple farming in villages such as Zawoora, Moshwara, Kellar, Shadimarg, Drubgam, Aglar, Gujjar Basti, Chararipora, Pakherpora, Kanidajan, Drawan, etc. More than this the impact on forests and environment would be huge. Thousands of Kail, Fir and Deodar trees would be axed, fresh water streams would be plundered to excavate riverbed material-RBM and hundreds of acres of pastureland would be damaged. The Hirpora wildlife century in Shopian will also get impacted, which is known for spiral horned Markhor (wild goat) population. This wildlife century was disturbed already with the construction of Mughal Road 20 years back and now it will be further affected with this new highway project.
Impact on Gujjar, Bakerwal, Chopans
The new highway especially from Shopian to Beerwah via Yusmarg and Doodhpathri will directly impact the livelihood of hundreds of tribal-pastoralist families from Gujjar, Bakerwal and Chopan communities. Their livelihood is at stake as the new highway will pass through their traditional meadows and pasturelands which they use for grazing their cattle, sheep and goat in summer months. The highway will either pass through south or north of Yusmarg bowl and from both sides the proposed highway will have to traverse through the dense forests. Thousands of forest trees would have to be cut down. This entire area with meadows like Haijan, Surakhnari, Palmaidan, Pares will be ruined.
Valley is Shrinking
The valley of Kashmir is very small and is shrinking day by day. Our major landmass is mostly under mountains. We have a small plain area of 150 kms x 70 kms. In this small valley we have already set up several highways, railway lines, flyovers, mega transmission lines and other infrastructural projects. We established housing colonies and even filled our wetlands for the same because of population growth in the last 3 decades. Our land is shrinking day by day and the agricultural land holding is now less than half acre. Our farmers fall under the below marginal farmers category. In such a scenario the Govt should in fact try to save the landmass and ensure no developmental projects pass through agri land and forests. We cannot replicate developmental models of Maharashtra or Karnataka in Kashmir as our topography, environment and biodiversity are totally different. The cement factories, brick kilns and surface transport are causing massive air pollution in Kashmir valley and there is a huge increase in black carbon emissions in our atmosphere. This is settling on our glaciers. When heavy trucks and vehicles will pass via Shopian , Yusmarg and Doodhpathri forests in the coming years won’t it further destroy these glaciers ? Our water sources will dry up.
Conclusion
Kashmir valley is choking. We don’t have space to set up a new scientific landfill site for Srinagar city. Srinagar city’s municipal solid waste is being dumped in a wetland area of Achan, Saidapora because of insufficient wasteland or unirrigated land. In such a situation, if we make new highways and railways through our fertile agriculture and forest land how can we expect our valley will survive for many centuries to come? It is the moral duty of our elected Govt, especially CM Omar Abdullah, to take up this very sensitive issue with Union Minister Nitin Gadkare and make sure this highway is not allowed to come up at all.
Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat is an Acumen Fellow and Chairman J&K Climate Action Group
