A Public Interest Litigation has been filed before the State High Court about pollution caused by stone crushers and land grabbers in Mawar. Mostly unlicensed and kahcharai land grabbers in the Mawar nallah of Langet tehsil in Handwara in north Kashmir are the culprits in this case. Mawar is the current name of ancient Mahuri of Nilamata Purana, a big and mighty nallah running down the Mawar valley and joining the Pohru River downstream. Village Mawar takes its name from this stream. During the Dogra rule, Tehsil Langet had been given as jaggier to Raja Ram Singh.
The Valley of Mawar is one of the most beautiful lush green parts of Kashmir region. Its breathtaking scenery and the grandeur of its densely wooded mountains have no parallel in Kashmir. Snow clad cliffs and oozing springs make it the real paradise within a paradise.
The entire Mawar nallah is full of huge boulders and stones and sand brought down by the gushing waters during the rainy season. It contains enormous wealth in stone and sand. More often owing to the water of the nallah usually changing its course, barren land becomes available. With great impetus to construction work in Kashmir, stone crushers and mixers have been installed by businessmen and stone crushing is going on in the nallah in a big way. Nobody knows whether the owners of crushers have obtained licenses or not. Numerous crushers are at work and the stone dust pollutes the otherwise pristine atmosphere of the entire valley. Land grabbers are grabbing the land from where waters have receded. In this way the State is deprived of income obtainable from these resources. The Bench of the High Court has very rightly imposed ban on unauthorized crushing of stones and has reprimanded the Pollution Control Board for neglecting its duty of preserving the purity of atmosphere in the valley.
It is an irony that the Tourist Development Corporation of the State has not paid attention to developing tourism in Mawar Valley and Bangs plateau, which, though once identified as ideal tourist resorts, have not been given due attention. It is a pity that even the MLAs of the area have not made strenuous efforts to pressurize the government in developing Bangas as most attractive and charming tourist site. There is a mottled road of about 10 miles length linking Handwara town with Nowgam, thanks to the Border Roads organization. A proper survey and planning would make Mawar Valley and Bangas as the most attractive spot in Kashmir, far more beautiful and enervating than any other spot say Pahalgam or Glummer. It will be noted that European guests of late Maharaja Hari Singh always preferred Bangas to all other picnic and tourist sites in Kashmir.
Fortunately, the High Court Bench has taken a very correct and timely decision not to allow any unit holder to operate in the nallah and install crushers and hot-cold mix machines as these emanate dust and pollute the air. It is unfortunate that the Tourism Department has adopted myopic vision concentrating on Pahalgam and Gulmarg while there are other sites in the valley which would be of far greater attraction. In case the Mawar Valley and Bangas are handed over to an tourist corporate for development, certainly these can come up as Asia’s most fascinating spots. How sad that such potentiality is being blatantly ignored and left to oblivion. Its development and preservation would make a drastic change in the life of the people of this valley who are just eking out a miserable living. We would expect the government and the JKTDC concentrate on developing the site.
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