The Jhelum River, once the proud lifeline of Kashmir’s civilisation, now flows heavy with a burden it was never designed to bear — the burden of human neglect. Its reducing depth, polluted channels, and rapidly vanishing banks are not just environmental warnings; they are moral alarms reminding us that we are failing our own future. Alongside the Jhelum, dozens of local water bodies — streams, lakes, wetlands, and tributaries — are fading away under constant encroachment, unchecked garbage dumping, and persistent administrative inertia.
For years, environmental experts, activists, and community elders have raised urgent concerns. Yet the crisis deepens because the response remains scattered, weak, and largely symbolic. This is no longer merely an ecological problem; it has escalated into a socio-economic emergency. The destruction of these water bodies threatens flood safety, agriculture, drinking-water supplies, biodiversity, and the cultural heritage of Kashmir.
The harshest truth is that this decline is entirely man-made. Illegal constructions have narrowed the Jhelum’s natural flow. Waste — household, commercial, and industrial — continues to be channelled directly into its waters. Wetlands that once absorbed excess water and maintained ecological balance are being filled overnight. Government clean-up drives, though occasionally launched with fanfare, are often short-lived and ineffective without strong monitoring and public participation.
The path forward must now be rooted in community-backed action. Government departments alone cannot restore the Jhelum, nor can NGOs sustain long-term results without local ownership. Mohalla committees, youth groups, religious institutions, market bodies, and schools should adopt stretches of rivers and streams in their vicinity. A community-driven monitoring network — reporting pollution, highlighting encroachments, and supporting enforcement agencies — could transform the fight.
On the policy front, accountability must be firm and non-negotiable. Encroachments must not only be identified but removed. Industries must be made to treat their waste. Urban planning must respect flood plains. And wetlands must be protected with absolute clarity and zero compromise.
Reviving our dying rivers is not a favour to nature — it is an obligation to future generations. If we fail to act now, the loss will be irreversible, and history will remember our silence more than our excuses.
