Bandipora: As Chillai-Kalan, Kashmir’s harshest winter period, sets in this Saturday, an unprecedented cold spell has gripped the valley, bringing life to a standstill.
With Wular Lake, Asia’s second-largest freshwater lake, located in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district, having completely frozen over, the local fishermen community finds itself in dire straits.
According to details gathered by the news agency JKNS, for the past three days, the thick layer of ice on the lake’s surface has prevented fishermen from navigating their boats, halting their daily activities.
The freezing of Wular has disrupted not only fishing but also the harvesting of water chestnuts, a crucial livelihood for the community.
A local fisherman from the area said this is the first time in decades that Wular has frozen like this. “We cannot move our boats, and all our work has come to a halt. It’s the harshest cold we’ve ever faced,” he said, his frustration evident as he watched the frozen expanse of the lake.
Notably, with Srinagar and other districts recording their coldest night since 1990, the situation is even more dire for the fishing community. The freezing of Wular highlights the severity of the ongoing winter cold spell, which has already broken records before Chillai-Kalan is fully underway.
As the valley braces for the next 40 days of extreme cold, the fishermen are calling for urgent intervention to help mitigate the impact on their livelihoods. With the region’s most severe winter conditions approaching, the need for contingency plans to support affected communities is more urgent than ever.—(JKNS)
