Preserve its pristine ethnicity

Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
Gurez the valley of meadows, snowcapped mountains and above all the land of Shinas is under threat . For many years I had an urge to visit this place, but the same could not materialize. In the month of July this year I finally visited Gurez valley along with my friends . We were lucky enough to have O P Sharma Vidhyarthi IFS with us during this trip. Mr Sharma who is Director Ecology , Environment & Remote Sensing is an authority not only on forests but he has in-depth information about each and every twig , wild flower or plant we find in the forests of Jammu & Kashmir. Mohammad Ramzan Khan a social activist from Achoora village of Gurez valley had invited us to visit Gurez.
After crossing Razdan top from Bandipora side Mr Sharma made us to stop after every single kilometer. He explained in detail about the herbs, wild flowers and trees we came across on the Bandipora Gurez road. It took us more than 5 hours to reach Dawar town of Gurez which otherwise is only a 3 hours drive from Bandipora.
The 85 kms road from Bandipora to Gurez is quite zigzag and rough. The breathtaking alpine peaks , dense kail and fir forests , high altitude Birch trees (burza) , and trickling waterfalls hardly make one feel he is travelling through such a treacherous road which usually remains closed for at least 6 months a year during winter season. At Razdan pass more than 15 feet snow can be seen during winters said Mohammad Ramzan Khan .
After coming down from the Razdan pass we were enjoying the drive and the local flora and fauna. The way Sharma ji explained the medicinal value of different wild flowers and even thorny herbs, all my friends started taking pictures of these flowers and herbs. But as soon as we entered Gurez valley , we first reached Kanzalwan and then Nile, a tiny village located on banks of Kishen Ganga river .
Kishen Ganga Dam
The ongoing construction of a dam for 330 Megawatt Kishen Ganga Hydro Electric project in this area suddenly made all of us very sad. The villages seemed to have been bombed by the Construction company HCC which has been hired by National Hydro Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) . The Kishen Ganga river is being diverted through a tunnel . This dam is going to cost Rs 10,000 million which is part of a run-of-the-river hydropower scheme that is designed to divert water from the Kishen Ganga River to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin at Bandipora. Another village which has been badly affected is Badwan where the dam has been constructed to halt the water, which would be diverted through a 23 kms long tunnel to Bandipora area where the power house is under construction. The entire population of Badwan has already been dislocated.
It was an emotional seen to see men and women collecting demolished items and household scrap at several villages like Badwan , Wanpora , Khopri Hejan . Shinas have been living in these villages from ages and centuries. They have an emotional attachment to their villages. One could have understood the compulsions of Jammu & Kashmir Government, had the state run J&K Power Development Corporation (JKPDC) been allotted this project, but the previous Government claimed that they had no sufficient equity to take up this project , J&K Government allotted the contract to NHPC. When our Government was not in a position to take up this project , what was the urgency to give the contract to NHPC against few megawatts of power in return ? As per my information out of 330 megawatts of power that would be generated in 1st phase from this Hydro Electric project , J&K state will get less than 40 megawatts of power.
Gurez valley consists of around 10 revenue villages. Out of these ten villages four villages namely Nile , Khopri Hejan, Badwan and Wanpora have been almost completely demolished. These villages will be submerged by next year when dam is filled with the water . The headquarters of Gurez valley Dawar will also be affected.
Tulail Valley
After halting at Dawar , we left for Tulail valley on July 8th. Tulail is part of Gurez sub division and comprises of several villages. This area had no road connectivity even until early 1990s. People from Gurez used to travel by foot to reach different villages of Tulail valley . The vale of Tulail consists of more than one dozen villages. When we leave Dawar, the headquarter of Gurez sub division , we reach village Barnai which is around 15 kms from Dawar. After Barnai , we cross several villages like Kashpath , Zadgai, Purana Tulail , Gobazan , Neeru , Badogam, Sardaab, Buglinder, Hussangam, Malangam, Badoaab, Gujraan, Abdulen and Chakwali. From Dawar to Chakwali the total distance is around 63 kms. Badogam (big village) as the name indicates is the headquarter of Tulail valley. There is a Block office in Badogam and this place was given a tehsil status as well around two years back. We went until Sardbaad village which is around 40 kms from Dawar. Kishen Ganga river flows through the Tulail valley as well and all the villages in Tulail are located on its banks as well.
Conclusion
Illegal stone crushing units and macadam /hot-mix plants have been established in dense forests of Gurez valley. The traditional log huts are being demolished not only by locals but the Government is also involved in this heinous crime. Log huts have been the hallmark of Gurez , but no steps are being taken to preserve them by authorities. I saw thousands of pinus trees fallen due to snowfall and same are made to rot in the jungles from Bandipora to Gurez . I am unable to understand why cannot these logs be utilized to renovate old wooden structures in Gurez ? Even during construction of new structures in Gurez , why cannot these logs be used in all the buildings from outside ?. Nearly 3 dozen shabby Govt schools and Govt offices have been constructed in Gurez and Tulail from last 5 years and not a single such structure gives a traditional look. It is impressed upon the Government to declare Gurez valley as an eco tourism destination. Before any construction prior permission should be availed from an authority that would take care of local traditions and environment.27

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