Srinagar, June 24, The Kashmir Valley is reeling under a dual calamity—relentless heatwave conditions and an acute water shortage—that has thrown daily life out of gear, stirred public anger, and raised alarm bells among environmentalists and farmers alike.
From the north to the south, reports have poured in of parched agricultural fields and dry household taps, with little sign of relief. In crucial agrarian districts like Baramulla, Bandipora, Shopian, Kulgam, and Pulwama, irrigation canals lie barren or clogged with silt and garbage. The timing could not be worse, as the crisis coincides with the crucial paddy sowing season, leaving farmers anxious and desperate.
“If water doesn’t reach the fields in the next few days, the entire crop will be lost,” said a distressed farmer from Shopian, who has already sown his fields and now awaits irrigation that may never arrive.
Urban areas are no better off. Residents in Srinagar, Budgam, Anantnag, and Ganderbal are grappling with severe drinking water shortages. In several neighborhoods, taps have dried up entirely, forcing families to rely on infrequent and insufficient water tanker services. Long queues around tanker stops have become a daily ordeal.
The Jal Shakti Department has blamed the crisis on a sharp decline in groundwater and stream levels, asserting that “restoration work is underway.” But such assurances have done little to pacify the public. “These statements are recycled every summer. We need solutions, not lip service,” said a resident of Rawalpora, Srinagar.
Environmental experts have pointed to a deeper, systemic problem: climate change, deforestation, and the failure to protect natural water bodies have exacerbated the crisis. They warn that unless urgent remedial measures are adopted—including afforestation, de-siltation of water channels, and long-term water conservation planning—Kashmir may be headed for an irreversible ecological and agricultural collapse.
