Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Sept 22: Farmers from several villages in Chadoora subdivision of district Budgam today said that recent floods washed away three irrigation channels fed by the Doodh Ganga stream, affecting nearly 3,000 kanals of agricultural land.
The aggrieved farmers blamed large-scale illegal riverbed mining over the past five years for weakening embankments and triggering massive erosion and landslides.
“Illegal sand and boulder mining using heavy machinery such as L&T cranes and JCBs has destroyed river embankments and traditional irrigation channels,” said Abdul Rashid Sheikh, a farmer from Doyan, Chadoora.
He said the floods washed away Kralpur Kul, Masar Kul, and Doyan Kul, leaving thousands of kanals of farmland without irrigation.
The farmers warned of intensified protests if authorities fail to restore the damaged channels before the next cropping season in March.
They estimate that more than 6,000 kanals of farmland could be indirectly impacted if restoration is delayed.
Residents of these villages allege that mining blocks were auctioned at meagre amounts while material worth hundreds of crores was illegally extracted.
They blame lax oversight by officials for the “loot and plunder” of Doodh Ganga.
It is to be noted here that the issue of illegal mining and pollution in Doodh Ganga has been under the consideration of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for the past four years.
The Tribunal has already penalized the Budgam Mining Department and Municipal Committee Chadoora with fines of Rs 1 crore and Rs 50 lakh respectively, in the case Raja Muzaffar Bhat v/s Govt of J&K and Others.
Last year, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation was also directed to pay environmental compensation of Rs 42 crore for discharging untreated sewage into the stream through 13 pump stations across Srinagar localities including Chanapora, Natipora, and Tengpora.
Meanwhile, the J&K Government has sanctioned a Rs 140 crore project for establishing two sewage treatment plants at Chanapora and Chadoora.
Of this, Rs 67 crore has already been allocated under Phase-I, but officials admit that weak response from bidders has stalled progress.
The Doodh Ganga case is listed for the next hearing before the NGT on September 25, 2025.
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