Syed Mustafa Ahmad Agriculture Land
This issue is not confined to our village but it is an issue of Jammu and Kashmir. Since 2015, we have been observing a gradual shift from agricultural to non- agricultural economy. It has many causes. Our village is located in the Central Kashmir’s district of Budgam. The famous Doodh Ganga stream flows up to Bemina. After Bemina, it is called the Flood Spill Channel, Narbal.
Hajibagh is near the world-famous, the Hokera Wetland. The Flood Spill Channel with the Doodh Ganga plays an important role in the agriculture at Hajibagh. But after the 2014 floods, there was a need to accommodate the floodwaters. It should be reminded that the Hokera Wetland used to accommodate the extra waters of the Jhelum. But for a decade, the constructional activities have reduced the Hokera Wetland in size. Now, the floodwaters flood the areas on both sides of the Jhelum. It was seen in 2014. The grand buildings, the roads, the shops, etc., are visible on the Hokera Wetland while the past glory is gone.
There are many causes responsible for this. In the coming lines, I will throw some light over this.
The first cause is that we have become materialistic. We have become blind in this race. We want more and more material. In this pursuit, we have forgotten to differentiate between an agricultural land and a non-agricultural land. The land that used to provide different kinds of facilities is now occupied by the grand buildings, the roads, the shops, the hotels, etc. In this way, the ecological balance is disturbed. Extreme weather conditions are experienced.
The second cause is that we have become lazy. We hate to work hard. We need instant gratification. The youth of today abhor the agricultural fields. They hate to plant seedlings and hate harvesting as well. We used to carry husk on our backs when we were children. But today, automobiles, tractors, etc., are used for this purpose and we still are lazy. Working under the blazing sun is a rare thing in the lives of the modern youth. We used to eat with the muddy hands. We used to drink the water of the Flood Spill Channel, Narbal. When we were children, we used to eat the water nuts of the Hokera Wetland. But today, the students don’t bother to look at it. Wading through the waters of the Hokera Wetland is a distant dream.
The third cause is encroachment. The greedy people have encroached the whole of the Hokera Wetland and other lands for kitchen gardens and the grazing of animals. Every day some parts of agricultural land is encroached to pile up. In this situation, the available agricultural land is reducing day by day.
The fourth cause is that the government is lazy. There are laws and regulations but they are never implemented on the ground. There is only rhetoric and nothing else. If the government is strict, there should be no encroachment, and those people who convert the agricultural land into the concretes should be dealt with strictly. But this is not the case. In this way, we are on the verge of losing all the agricultural lands in the Central Kashmir district, Srinagar and Budgam.
The fifth cause is that the international community also is silent about this. They are least bothered about this. They are busy in image blotting. They also blame each other. If an international law prohibits the conversion of agricultural land into a concrete one, why is it not implemented? Which thing binds us in this way?
The sixth and the last cause is the presence of Army Camp, commonly called the Shariefabad Camp. The waste produced from the camp has destroyed our lands. Our lands have become acidic. They are unfit for cultivation. The impure water enters our fields and the result is the gradual destruction of the food chain. Fish have died in the Flood Spill Channel. Animals also fall ill. It has many other harmful effects but the main problem is that it has made our lands barren.
In this age of science and technology, everything has changed, China has taken lead in agriculture. We still are there wherefrom we have started. India in general and Jammu and Kashmir in particular, should know the minuteness of time. The future will see a rise in population growth. At that time, it will become more difficult. So, we should rise to the occasion and save ourselves from the destruction. Hope good sense prevails!
