OK. Now for the real thing. If those pictures were like a trip to heaven, these will jolt you back to earth, the real purpose of this website. It was pretty shocking for us as well. What after all that we had heard of Kashmir, the paradise on earth.
A native friend told us that weeds were choking the Dal Lake (but nothing could have prepared me for this). That the authorities were trying to get rid of them but they grew too fast for the huge machines the government had set up along the lake's border (pictures in some later post). Well, everybody knows when its man against nature, nature wins. And it surely doesnt help if the man happens to be only too willing to let nature win.
I got to know that the Dal Lake really was very beautiful. But then terrorism struck Kashmir, and like most things during those dark ages, it fell into decadence. Though terrorism no longer has Kashmir in a chokehold, the government could never restore its glory, whether its the Dal Lake or Kashmir in general.
These pictures just present the pathetic weed situation in the Lake, the Gagri Bal part, and the litter thrown in by the tourists who clearly have no desire to leave the place as they found it. They leave it only a little dirtier. Thousands of tourists, all contributing only a little. The impact can be imagined. Sadly, the locals don't mind, they help.
A native friend told us that weeds were choking the Dal Lake (but nothing could have prepared me for this). That the authorities were trying to get rid of them but they grew too fast for the huge machines the government had set up along the lake's border (pictures in some later post). Well, everybody knows when its man against nature, nature wins. And it surely doesnt help if the man happens to be only too willing to let nature win.
I got to know that the Dal Lake really was very beautiful. But then terrorism struck Kashmir, and like most things during those dark ages, it fell into decadence. Though terrorism no longer has Kashmir in a chokehold, the government could never restore its glory, whether its the Dal Lake or Kashmir in general.
These pictures just present the pathetic weed situation in the Lake, the Gagri Bal part, and the litter thrown in by the tourists who clearly have no desire to leave the place as they found it. They leave it only a little dirtier. Thousands of tourists, all contributing only a little. The impact can be imagined. Sadly, the locals don't mind, they help.
If you look a little carefully at this picture you might notice weeds just below the water surface. The sad part is that this is true just for the picture, when you are out there you really don't have to make an effort, its staring you in the face.
I actually felt a little scared in the shikara, it appeared there was a jungle down there, and if I fell into the water, it would gobble me up only too easily.
This actually looks like dry land, but its not. The only way of detecting water would be probably to throw a stone and see it splashing.
I wont call this filthy, or dirty, or anything such thing. To me it was just plain shocking.
I wont call this filthy, or dirty, or anything such thing. To me it was just plain shocking.
3 comments:
great, and shocking photos. Kashmir's beautiful environment should be cared for like a national treasure! i guess that's too much to expect from the government.
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