Tauseef Ahmad
BANDIPORA, Sep 27: Once known for its deep and fresh water Wullur Lake is now battling for its survival. For centuries Wullur has been the main source of food and economy of thousands of families living on its banks in North Kashmir’s district Bandipora
Thousands of people in North Kashmir depend on the Lake’s fish and chestnuts. Wullar contributes to approximately 60% of Kashmir’s total fish yield, providing an annual fish production of over 4,000 tons.
The main source of water for Wullar Lake is river Jhelum. This lake also has a small island in its center called the ‘Zaina Lank’. This island was constructed by king Zain-ul-Abiddin in the 14th century. The lake was 24 kilometers in length, 10 kilometers in breadth
According to a study by Wetland International, 32,000 families including 2,300 fisher households living on Wullar’s shores depend on it for their livelihood.
“As compared to the past, fish turnout in Wullar has gone down considerably. Earlier a fisherman could catch up to 15 kg of fish in a single day. These days if a person catches even three or four kg in a day, we call him the king of Wular. We called him a lucky person,” said Ghulam Hassan, a local resident of Zurimanz village of North Kashmir’s Bandipora district while talking to Kashmir Despatch.
Migratory bird species like mallards, coots, teals, gadwalls, ruddy Shelducks, Greylag geese etc are found in this Lake in large numbers.
With its declining water levels and deteriorating quality, the lake and its surrounding areas have reported a sharp decline in birds and fish population in recent years. The bird population around the lake declined from 120,000 in 2020 to 707 in 2021, as per the Asian Water Bird Census report.
Speaking with Kashmir Despatch reporter one of the residents of Laharwalpora Ghulam Mohammad said that the extraction of water chestnuts is declining day by day.” The uneven rains, muddy waters of Wullar Lake are hitting the economy of the poor locals hard.
A family in Bandipora dealing with the cultivation of chestnuts said that the boatmen row their boats in early morning in Wullur lake for extraction of water chestnuts. “For seven hours of extraction a day the family earns hardly Rs 200 to 300!”
Another resident of this area, Mohammad Sultan said: “Earlier we would earn our livelihood from this fresh water lake in a dignified manner but now it seems our children can’t fetch anything from this lake.”
“It’s everybody’s responsibility to save the lake from being polluted. We are totally dependent on this lake, as it supports the economy of more than 10,000 families living on its banks,” added Mohammad Sultan, a resident of Lahrawalpora Bandipora.
Nadroo, lotus root (modified tuber), was once found in Wullar lake in abundance. It grows in freshwater lakes (botanical name Nelumbo nucifera). It has been mainly cultivated in South East Asia, Mediterranean and also in some Latin American countries since ages. Hindus, Buddhists and Egyptians consider Lotus as a sacred flower.
The rhizome of lotus forms into cylindrical shaped jointed nodes of about 2-4 feet in height with big leaves sprouting over the surface of water, called “Kheyl” in Kashmiri language.
“Earlier we would collect 20 kgs of Kheyl a day from the Wullur but now we didn’t saw a single Kheyl this year in the lake. It is hoped that authorities take care of the Wulur which is getting filled rapidly with plastics and waste from the streams. Wukur Lake is not only a treasure of the valley in terms of its beauty all around the year with different hues and colors, but also a backbone of the fisherman community of thousands of families,” appealed the locals.
They added: “We request the district administration Bandipora to take concrete initiatives so that the waste that enters Wullur lake from the local streams is stopped and dustbins are placed in villages who live on the banks of Wullur. This way there would be no impact on the community’s livelihood generated from this world famous lake.”
