Beware! No Hanky-Panky with Nature.

Until late sixties it was the Anchar Lake

Nature is not to be blamed for the ferocious floods of September, 2014, that caused havoc. Let us see how bad we have been with the nature. To what an extent the nature is expected to tolerate our fiddling? For their commission from the so called ‘developmental works’, natural water ways and water resources have been buried and converted into roads and residential colonies. Nalie Maer, though changed into a road continues to have its name as Nalie Maer Road. Anchar Lake has been converted into a residential colony with the construction of inroads in the lake. Taj Hotel mounted on the Zabarvan Hill, overlooking the Dal Lake mocks at its saviour, the LAWDA (Lake and Water Ways Development Authority). The Santour Hotel is the first encroachment on the Dal Lake made by the Government that had to protect it against any encroachment. In my childhood, it was Bode Dal and Lokuet Dal. Now in my youth at 75, it is reduced and squeezed beyond recognition to a big pond. 1996, Farooq Abdullah had announced restoration of all ponds at Jammu that were functional until 1947 and did conserve rain water. All nallahs of Jammu and Kashmir have been usurped by colonizers. The forest land of monkeys and other forest animals has been encroached. If they come down to their own habitat, we raise hue and cry, little realizing that we encroached upon their land. Late forties, I used to accompany my grandmother for a dip into the Doodh Ganga on auspicious occasions of 'Sumree Mavus'. Today Doodh Ganga has been converted into a Shopping Complex by the authors of Naya Kashmir. Height of mockery is the existence of the signboard at Karan Nagar Crossing pointing towards Doodh Ganga Road.

Distributary  from the river Sindh that once supplemented  the Anchar lake

Until 1990, the year of my exodus, a big chunk of the population of the city used to live in their ‘Bahatch’ and ‘Doongas’ (Big floating boats housing the family and the goods they used to deal with) on either side of the river Jhelum and the river Keteakoel, Rainawari Waterways, besides, Chunthi koel and other rivers. Surprisingly, all ‘Bahatch’ and ‘Doongas’ vanished immediately after the start of the 1990 Tributturmoil in the valley. Boatmen that lived in ‘Bahatch’ and ‘Doongas’ occupied the evacuated houses on either bank of these rivers. The house of Pundit Amar Nath Mattoo, the then Headmaster Biscoe School at Zaindar Mohalla is under the ownership of Mohammad Ramzan, who used to anchor his ‘bahatch’ under the verandah beside the lawn of the house. The house of Pundit Amar Nath Saproo, the then Chief Manager SRTC at Zaindar Mohalla changed its ownership to Azim who used to ferry passengers across the river. The house of Tulsi Nath Misri the then Head Master Biscoe School, once abode of educationists turned into the infamous haunted brothel that once involved ministers, and bureaucrats.

Once Anchar Lake

At times of floods, this population that lived on water would never be liability of rescuers. They would provide ‘Khoech’ to the administration to rescue marooned ones. Haji Mohammad Jamal Haroon used to live in his ‘bahatch’ in my neighbourhood. He shifted to Mahjur Nagar flood prone area. To day to ferry him from the second storey of his house, boat from Mahrashtra had to be requisitioned.

Once Anchar Lake

30^th August, 2014 on Amar Singh College Alumni meet, Professor Mohammad Shafi Pundit IAS, retired Chief Secretary suggested to the Principal that Master Plan for the college should be prepared before rising of buildings here and there to cause eyesore. Professor Pundit’s sarcastic smile to the response that a team of Engineers formulated the master plan revealed volumes. Construction of Girls Hostel beside the compound wall of the Government Polytechnic Jammu in the premises of MAM College is one more catastrophe of the planners.

Department of Environment and Pollution Control Board along with Jehlum valley Medical college (submerged under flood waters of 2^nd September, 2014) stand on the land at Bemina that was water body until 1965.

The fourth Tawi Bridge at Bagwati Nagar Jammu designed by a team of engineers from IIT Delhi was reportedly redesigned to accommodate allotment of land in the name of Ministers and Bureacrats got washed away in the September 2014 flash flood.

Let all vow not to do any hanky-panky with the Nature hereafter.

Roads laid through the Anchar Lake is the Developmental work of our Government