Joy and relief as lotus flowers bloom again in Kashmiri lake after three decades | Wild flowers

“WHe threw seeds into the hundreds of times, but nothing has grown. It is only now, after cleaning the silt, that we see the flowers again after almost 33 years, ”explains Bashir Ahmad, a 65 -year -old man who fishs in Lake Wulamire for his livelihoods.

WULAR once was among the largest freshwater lakes in Asia. It is located in the cashmere valley, about 18 miles (30 km) northwest of Srinagar, at the foot of Pir Panjal and Himalayan mountain ranges. It was renowned for its high quality lotus factories and supported the means of subsistence of more than 5,000 people who harvested and sold nadru – The edible lotus rod cherished as a delicacy in the cashmere households and which appears in wazwanTraditional festive meals with several dishes in the region.

Then, in 1992, devastating floods struck the region. They smothered the lake bed with silt, destroying lotus plants and plunging families into poverty. The prized stems have gradually disappeared as an ingredient used in local kitchens.

During the following three decades, the state of the lake – designated as a wetland in Ramsar of international importance since 1990 – aggravated, says Bashir. The parts were transformed into landfill and its area was considerably reduced.

While in 1911, it lasted 217 km2 (84 miles m²), with 58 km2 of Marais, in 2007, the lake had decreased by almost two thirds to cover only 86 km2, according to the regional government of Jammu and Kashmir. An official survey blame the large -part withdrawal of the land converted to agriculture, which also led to a 17% drop in the lake fauna. The expansion of willows plantations around the lake increased the accumulation of silt. The trees acted like barriers, disturbing the flow of the river and causing the accumulation of sediments.

In 2020, the WULAR Conservation and Management Authority (WUCMA) began a dissertation program to restore the depth of the lake and eliminate the waste transported by the Jhelum river and its tributaries. Officials say that more than 7.9 million cubic meters of silt have been removed from the lake so far. More than 2 million willows have been uprooted. Five years later, lotus flowers flourish again.

Ahmad, whose four brothers also depend on the lake for their livelihoods, says that seeing the flowering of the lotus feels again as a dream that has become reality. “We had lost all hope that it would come back.

“Our elders collected to collect Lotus lies from the lake and sold them on various valley markets, especially on special occasions,” he said.

“After the disappearance of the lotus, they turned to fishing, but that was not also durable. The return of the lotus brought hope.”

Ahmad’s brother Mohammad Fayaz Dar says that after the disappearance of lotus stems, Nadru has also gradually disappeared from local food. “But now we think it will be completely relaunched,” he says.

The dishes in manufactured, adds DAR, have a deep cultural meaning for cashmere families: “Lotus Stem connects our food to the earth. His absence changed the menus.

“Now that it’s back, we prepare dishes like our grandmothers – slow, simple and full of memory,” said Tavir Ahmad, a head of a cashmere market.

WUCMA officials said the Lotus Renaissance would help stimulate the local economy, which was otherwise about to collapse.

“It is a public property, but people have to take care of it,” said Showket Ahmad, an employee of Wucma.

He says that although the lotus stems had not been visible in the lake for years, the roots had probably remained dormant – buried under layers of silt.

“After eliminating the silt from specific areas, lotus plants began to reappear,” he said. Historically, the lake supported fishing communities and water chestnut harvests. There remains an essential habitat for migratory birds, including the Siberian crane.

“It is not only the renewal of a plant, it is the resurrection of a cultural ecosystem,” said Meera Sharma, an environmentalist based in Delhi. “When nature heals, it revives everything it has fed – means of subsistence, traditions, biodiversity.

“The return of the Lotus to WULAR is a deep reminder that environmental restoration does not concern aesthetics or data points; It’s about restoring human connection with the earth, ”she says.

“Seeing these flowers flower again after decades is like watching history breathe.”

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