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Time of India
4 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Like a lost love returning after decades, Wular Lake's 'miraculous' lotus bloom leaves Kashmir teary-eyed
After nearly three decades, the pink lotus flowers have returned to Wular Lake in north Kashmir, bringing joy to both nature lovers and local residents. This revival comes thanks to dedicated conservation efforts after the 1992 floods damaged the lake's ecosystem and buried its famous lotus beds under thick layers of silt. Wular Lake, one of Asia's largest freshwater lakes, spans 200 square kilometres and stretches from the foothills of the Haramukh mountains in Bandipora to Sopore in Baramulla district. Once known for its rich biodiversity, the lake lost much of its charm after the 1992 floods, which deposited huge amounts of silt and wiped out the lotus plants. Abdul Hameed, a local resident, called the comeback 'nothing short of a miracle.' He said locals had tried dispersing lotus seeds earlier but they never grew due to the heavy silt. That changed when the Wular Conservation and Management Authority (WUCMA) started a massive desilting drive. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 이 게임은 대부분의 TV 프로그램보다 더 재미있어요 – 게다가 무료예요. Raid: Shadow Legends 플레이하기 Undo According to Mudasir Ahmad, zonal officer at WUCMA, last year showed small signs of lotus revival. In 2025, the authority used special machines called Cutter Suction Dredgers to clear silt and improve water quality. This year, they also planted lotus seeds, which led to a fresh bloom covering nearly 3 square kilometres of the lake. Chief Conservator of Forests, Irfan Rasool, said the return of lotuses proves that the lake's ecological health is improving. Over 80 lakh cubic metres of silt have been removed so far. This not only restored the lake's depth and water-holding capacity but also allowed sunlight to reach the lakebed, helping dormant lotus roots grow again. Live Events The return of lotus plants has sparked new hope for the local economy. The edible stems of lotus, known as nadru in Kashmir, are a popular delicacy and a major source of income for many families. 'Nadru was missing for many years. Now we can grow and harvest it again,' said Mudasir Ahmad. The harvesting process is labour-intensive and involves diving into the water, but it provided seasonal work to hundreds in the past. Locals are now hopeful that the economy around the lake will thrive again. The revival of lotus plants is not the only good news. With better water quality and increased depth, the lake has become home to a wider range of aquatic life. WUCMA officials say several rare migratory birds have returned in the past two years. These include species like the Long-tailed Duck, Smew Duck, Great Bittern, Marbled Teal, and even the endangered Pallas's Fish-eagle. Locals like Hameed are urging people to keep the lake clean and protect its fragile biodiversity. 'We lost this beauty once because of our mistakes. We shouldn't let that happen again,' he said. As Wular Lake blossoms again with pink lotuses and birdsong, it stands as a reminder of what strong conservation efforts and community support can achieve. Inputs from PTI
Indian Express
6 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Lotus blooms in Kashmir's Wular lake after 30 years: ‘Thought we lost god's gift forever'
Abdul Rashid Dar sits on the edge of Wular lake in Kashmir's Bandipora, staring in wonder. In front is a sea of pink lotuses, all in full bloom. 'I can't believe my eyes' he says as he delicately touches one. 'When I was a child, I would accompany my father to harvest the lotus stems but that was a long time ago. I thought we have lost this gift of God forever.' Something remarkable is happening at Wular — Asia's largest freshwater lake located in Bandipora. The idyllic lake, located some 67 km from Srinagar and surrounded by the misty Harmukh mountains, is once again becoming home to lotuses 30 years after a devastating flood completely wiped them out of the area. The change has been brought about thanks to conservation efforts by the Wular Conservation and Management Authority. The authority had begun desilting the lake in an effort to clear silt deposits from the flood. 'The lotus has seen a revival in areas where we have removed silt over the last few years. Since lotus seeds were buried deep inside the silt and soil, they couldn't grow. Now that the silt has been removed, lotus has again grown,' says Mudasir Ahmad, a zonal officer of the Wular Conservation and Management Authority. For a populace struggling with falling incomes and rising unemployment, the development has economic implications – it means the revival of lotus stem harvesting, a traditional occupation here. 'It's almost a miracle,' 43-year-old Dar, whose father was a lotus stem farmer, says. The unexpected turnaround Located between Bandipora and Sopore towns and spread around 200 sq km, the lake was once full of lotuses. The stems, known locally as Nadru, are a delicacy in Kashmir, where it is cooked with fish or yoghurt to make a dish known as Nadru Yakhni. Lotus also grows in Dal and Manasbal lake of the Valley, where harvesting its stem is a means of livelihood. A typically labour-intensive process, the harvesting process involves farmers diving neck deep into water to retrieve the stem. September of 1992, Kashmir saw a devastating flood that caused considerable damage to the rich ecosystem of Wular lake, depositing a large quantity of silt that buried the lotus vegetation and affected the lake's water flow. For residents, it meant a loss of livelihood. 'That year, the lotus was in full bloom,' Ghulam Hassan Reshi, a resident from Lankreshipora village on the shore of the lake, says. 'Then we lost the lotus forever. At least we thought that way, until now.' An official, however, said that while the lotus stems couldn't grow for harvesting since 1992, records suggest that its rhizomes – or its creeping root stalk — were still present in the lake until 25 years ago. The turnaround came unintended. In 2020, Wular Conservation and Management Authority (WUCMA) embarked on an ambitious project to reclaim the lake and its rich ecosystem. Part of the project was to dredge up silt from the lake. The efforts paid off — last year, lotus began showing first signs of revival. Encouraged, the authority dispersed lotus seed in the lake this year, Wular Conservation and Management Authority's zonal officer Mudasir Ahmad says. 'The dredging changed it all,' local resident Ghulam Hassan Reshi says. 'For many years, the villagers dispersed the lotus seed into the lake but nothing worked,' he says. Meanwhile, efforts to revive Wular continue. The lake, whose fish is known for its distinct taste, has over the years become a receptacle for all the silt and waste thrown into the Jhelum river and the 25 other streams that feed it. 'We have removed 79 lakh cubic meters of silt from the lake so far,' says Owais Farooq Mir, a former official of the Wular Conservation and Management Authority who was with the authority until recently. 'We are also in process to construct retention basins on the major stream so that waste and silt is prevented from going into the lake'. All this means additional income for the local community. At the lake, Abdul Aziz Dar, 60, watches some young boys click photos near the lake's edge. 'When some flowers bloomed last year, we didn't let anyone harvest them. We didn't want to lose them again,' he said. 'The good thing is that it is harvested in a season when there are very few options of work — from September to March.' Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter. ... Read More
