Wular’s biodiversity has been a source of livelihood for the large number of people who occupy the lakeshore. However, things have changed for the worse in the last few years. Around 64 km from Kashmir’s capital of Srinagar lies one of Asia’s largest freshwater lakes — Wular. Surrounded by lofty peaks of the Himalayan range, this lake in Bandipora is fed by the Jhelum and a stream named Madhumati.
Wular plays a significant role in the hydrographic system of the Kashmir Valley. It acts as a flood basin, saving the region by absorbing the annual flood water. However, the lake is on the verge of extinction as the mountain rivers Bohnar, Madumati and Erin, as well as Jhelum and Ningal from south Kashmir, are bringing silt, plastic and other solid waste into it. Unrestrained siltation and human encroachment have shrunk the lake by 54 percent in the last three decades.
The area of Wular has reduced from 157 sq km to 86 sq km. An important habitat for migratory water birds, Wular’s biodiversity is a source of livelihood for the large number of people who occupy its shore. About 60 percent of the fish catch of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) comes from Wular. This provides income to at least 30,000 families from across 30 lakefront villages. Ninety percent of J&K’s water-chestnuts also come from Wular.
The rapid shrinking of the lake has led to the crumbling of livelihood of the lakeshore community. “I have been fishing in this lake for the last eight years, and my catch is decreasing every day,” says Mohammad Rafiq, a 24-year-old fisherman from Paribal, a village in Bandipor. Earlier, when Rafiq accompanied his father to fish, they would net anything between 20 and 30 kg every day. These days, Rafiq’s catch is 4-7 kg. “It’s hard for us to survive. The lake which once used to provide for us, has now plunged us into poverty and despair.” Fisherman Nazir Ahmad Dar of Zerimanz village adds that sometimes he goes without a catch for weeks: “I have been fishing in the Wular for the last 20 years. This is the worst spell because I haven’t earned a penny in the last 20 days. Wular will be without fish soon and we will be jobless.”
During such dry spells, the women of the community come to the rescue. Young and old, they leave home in their wooden boats at dawn to extract water chestnuts from Wular. But this activity lasts only between July and September, so it is a struggle for the families most of the year. “Wular almost dries during the winter, so I go to the Kupwara district, 71 km from my home, and sell vegetables there. But there are other people in our community who only know how to fish, and they end up under debt,” Nazir Ahmad says.
Fishermen blame the waste flowing in from south Kashmir for the loss of biodiversity in the lake. They are also against the dredging of the Jhelum. “Due to the dredging, the water from Wular flows back into the river,” says Abdul Aziz Malla, a 60-year-old fisherman who has depended on Wular for a living for four decades. This is yet another instance of a sword hanging over human lives, due to the degradation and neglect of a water body.