Kashmir’s ‘vegetable villages’ submerged; farmers face ruin

Srinagar, Sep 6: When floodwaters from the Vaishaw Nallah, the highest-discharge tributary of the Jhelum, broke its embankments early this week, 49-year-old farmer Farooq Ahmad Wani of Wanigund village in Qaimoh area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district stood helplessly as the gushing stream swallowed his vegetable fields.

Within hours, decades of hard work, seeds of future harvests, and the livelihoods of dozens of families were gone.

“We along with flood control officials tried to plug the breach,” Wani said, his eyes fixed on the submerged land. “But the water slowly crept inside and drowned everything, radish, onion, coriander, spinach, seedlings meant for autumn and winter. Half of my farm has vanished.”

Triggered by days of heavy rain, the floods have destroyed more than 2500 hectares of vegetables, maize, and pulses across Kashmir, officials said, devastating farmers who had turned villages like Wanigund–Qaimoh into hubs of year-round organic cultivation.

A LOST GREEN REVOLUTION

The Vaishaw’s vast network of irrigation canals nourishes fertile belts in Anantnag and Kulgam, sustaining vegetable clusters that have flourished over decades.

Wanigund, once a barren hamlet, had transformed into Kashmir’s “vegetable village,” producing over 4000 kg of cucumbers a day along with carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, and red chilies.

Nearly 400 families worked the land, supplying markets across Kashmir and exporting to other states.

“We used to think government jobs were the only way to live with dignity,” said farmer Sajad Ahmad Wani, 44, a postgraduate who left teaching for organic farming. “Agriculture gave us independence. But this flood has broken my back. There is no insurance for vegetables, only small relief, if at all.”

Another farmer, Lateef Ahmad Wani, 55, said the cluster had “changed our lives” by making them self-reliant. “Now, everything is under water. Our dreams have been washed away.”

For Sultan Dar of Bangidar, Anantnag, the destruction was personal.

“I cultivated exotic vegetables on six kanals and earned handsomely,” Dar said. “Unlike paddy, vegetables give us income every season. Now, I don’t know how to feed my family.”

In Gund Chahal, Bijbehara, farmer Ghulam Muhammad lost seedlings on 2.5 kanal and vegetables on two more.

“My sons and their children depend only on this farm for food and school expenses. Where will we go now?” he asked.

WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION

In Bangidar village, Anantnag, floods from the Aaripat River damaged 326 of 400 kanal, affecting 185 farmers.

The vegetable farms in Pulwama, Awantipora, Srinagar, and Budgam-prime irrigation-fed belts have also suffered massive losses.

In Budgam, fertile tracts in Rakh-e-Shalina, Sahlina, Seer Bagh, and Zoonipora were inundated.

In Srinagar’s outskirts, farms in Maloora, Pamposh Colony, Parimpora, the hub of the Valley’s vegetable mandi were submerged.

The damage was not limited to vegetables.

Maize fields in Larnoo, Kokernag, Pahalgam, and Damhal Hanjipora in Kulgam, and pulses in upper Anantnag and Kulgam, including beans, moong, and masoor, were washed away, officials said.

Abdul Hamid, a farmer from Larnoo, said half of his maize crop was lost.

“Several of us had waited for this harvest. Now everything is gone,” he said.

Officials estimate losses may run into crores of rupees.

Chief Agriculture Officer Anantnag, Shahnawaz Ahmad Shah, confirmed “severe damage” in Anantang in Bijbehra to vegetable farms and said, “The present varieties of vegetables under cultivation have been badly damaged. We are preparing a detailed ground report to be submitted to higher authorities, and we hope farmers will be provided some relief.”

Director of Agriculture Kashmir, Sartaj Ahmad, said the department was collecting ground data across Kashmir.

“As per SDRF and NDRF guidelines, compensation and relief are applicable where crop loss is above 33 percent. From our preliminary assessment, in many areas that threshold has been crossed. We will ensure all eligible cases are documented and forwarded for necessary support,” he said.

In the Bijbehara-Srigufwara constituency, NC legislator Syed Bashir Ahmad Shah (Veeri) said vegetable farms in several villages were “completely destroyed.”

“This is a human tragedy. Entire clusters have been wiped out. Farmers must be compensated without delay,” he said.

CPI (M) leader and legislator Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami called the situation “calamitous.”

“The damage to indigenous rice, exotic vegetables, pulses, maize, and fruits has broken the back of farmers. At least in south Kashmir, this should be declared a calamity,” Tarigami said. “I fear that if nothing is done, farmers in Kashmir, like many other parts of the country, will die of starvation. The government must roll out crop insurance for all marginalised farmers, orchardists, paddy and vegetable growers, pulses and millet cultivators. Relief cannot wait.”

For now, farmers like Farooq Wani can only watch the stagnant waters covering their fields, unsure if they will ever recover.

“It was always harvest season in Wanigund,” he said. “Now, it feels like the season of death.”