An integral part of Kashmiri culture, the blossoming chinar’s beauty is celebrated by both artists and commoners alike. The tree appears endangered today, but Khursheed Wani believes in its immortality
KASHMIR: I grew up under the shade of majestic and gigantic chinar trees. I faced my first cricket ball in front of its stump. Learnt my first lesson under its cool breeze and understood my...
Posted 2 days ago.
SRINAGAR: A ten-year-old boy was attacked by two leopard in an apple orchard in north Kashmir and later only his half eaten body was recovered, police said on Wednesday.
This is the third such incident in past 10 days underlining the mountainous region's grave man-animal conflict issue.
Wildlife officials say Leopard and Himalayan black bear populations have increased after a ban on hunting was enforced in Kashmir in 1970, and the loss of pine forests had already increased contact between...
Posted 7 days ago.
Majid Jahangir
SRINAGAR: At a time when poplar trees in Kashmir have become a serious health hazard, scientists from the Faculty of Forestry at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, have started research to produce the seedlings of the poplar tree which grow very fast for mass multiplication and plantation.
The new variety would not only grow fast, making it more...
Posted 7 days ago.
Majid Jahangir
SRINAGAR: The government has resorted to the use of the most dreaded pepper in the world, Bhut Jolokia or ghost pepper to ward off wild animals.
The move is aimed at reducing the man-animal conflict in the state that has taken a heavy toll in recent years.
The government has started its use as an experiment at certain places by smearing fences with the oil of Bhut Jolokia (ghost pepper), the hottest pepper in the world, to keep wild animals from...
Posted 16 days ago.
SRINAGAR: Gypsum mining projects, inside the proposed national park near Line of Control, pose a huge threat to a rare mountain goat whose population has steadily increased after a ceasefire agreed between the Indian and Pakistani armies in 2003, wildlife official said on Wednesday.
The Markhor (Capra falconeri) was scared away or fell victim to regular artillery duels between Indian and Pakistani troops along the LoC and had not been seen for years before the truce was declared.
A senior...
Posted 24 days ago.
Ishfaq Tantry
SRINAGAR: All hotels at famous ski resort Gulmarg are functioning without any sewage treatment plant (STP) to manage the toilet waste.
In addition, the tonnes of solid waste and garbage generated at the resort goes untreated as at present there is no mechanism or facility in place to manage the waste at Gulmarg, not even an incinerator.
Though the only five star hotel at Gulmarg has installed an STP, it has not been made functional yet despite...
Posted 30 days ago.
SRINAGAR: Pulling the state government for not taking the Wullar Lake conversation project with gravity, Jammu and Kashmir High Court also wanted to know why allocation for the conversation of the water body was reduced from Rs 386 crore to just Rs 120 crore.
After perusing the latest status report filed by the Wullar Conservation and Management Authority (WCMA), a Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Chief Justice, M M Kumar and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey observed that the...
Posted 36 days ago.
Rahiba R Parveen
SRINAGAR: Anchaar lake in Kashmir, which was once a treasured tourist spot and home to exotic migratory birds and fishes, is in its last throes today.
It has now shrunk to thrice its size which was estimated to be 19.5 sq kilometers by Sir Walter Lawrence, a British official, who was posted in Kashmir more than a century ago.
On the boundaries of the Lake huge concrete houses have been erected. Open sewage flows into the lake and garbage...
Posted 41 days ago.
Ashiq Hussain
SRINAGAR: Presence of many government offices deep inside the Dachigam National Park in Srinagar is threatening the survival of the highly endangered Royal Kashmir Stag – Hangul.
The 141 sq km Park in the lap of Zabarwan hills is one of the highly protected wildlife sanctuaries as it holds “the last viable population of red deer or Hangul in the world” after union government declared it National Park in 1981.
Conservationists warn of threat...
Posted 47 days ago.
Rakib Altaf
SRINAGAR: Toxic chemicals sprayed in orchards to prevent crop diseases are killing black bears in the mountainous Kashmir valley, worrying the region's wildlife conservationists.
Most of the state's orchard area (347223 hectares) is situated in the valley, known for its apples and pears.
Every year until the harvest season farmers spray trees with many pesticides and insecticides including Endosulphan, a chemical known to...
Posted 52 days ago.
