Water Bodies Face Extinction in J&K

Water bodies in Jammu and Kashmir are under immense threat from encroaching as these water bodies are under illegal possession by encroachers and are continuously encroached. Encroachment on water bodies refers to the unauthorized occupation or use of land that is adjacent to or within a water body such as a river, lake,stream, Kuhls, or wetlands. This can take many forms, including the filling or dredging of water bodies for development purposes, and the construction of buildings or other structures within the water body or its buffer zone. Disposal of solid waste or other pollutants in the water body. Encroachment often occurs due to a lack of awareness of the environmental impact of such actions, lack of understanding of the importance of preserving these water bodies, and lack of intervention from concerned Govt. officials. Education and awareness campaigns and stronger enforcement of laws and regulations can help prevent encroachment on water bodies and protect these vital resources for future generations. The encroachment of water bodies is a common problem in Jammu & Kashmir. The encroachment on water bodies can lead to several environmental and social problems, including loss of agricultural land, drinking water shortage, pollution of water, flooding, soil erosion, loss of aquatic biodiversity and problem in widening and drugging of encroached water bodies. The irrigation and flood control department of Jammu and Kashmir recently issued separate eviction notices with strict warnings to people of all districts of Jammu & Kashmir and said,to remove the illegal encroachment from all water bodies within seven days, failing which strict action would be taken against the culprits.In these eviction notices, from the I&FC dept. it is mentioned that if any person fails to remove encroachment within a given time frame then the I&FC dept. will take strict action against the people who failed to remove illegal encroachments on water bodies.
The anti-encroachment drive being carried out by the irrigation and Flood control J&K is not being carried out in an even-handed manner. While some people are being forced to remove their encroachments on irrigation canals, Streams, Kuhls, and wetlands , others keep their encroachments as such. This is causing resentment among the people who are being asked to remove their encroachments. The law should be equal for all, and the culprits who don’t obey the recent Govt. orders and have still encroached on the water bodies should be dealt with strictly by law. So that in future no one violates the govt. orders. The J&K I&FC deptt. should now work with drugging and widening these life-lying water bodies, so that the deprived people who are completely dependent on them will not suffer in the future.
(The author is an Environmentalist. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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