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Srinagar: As Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir faces one of its worst dry spells in decades, farmers are struggling to irrigate their paddy fields amid a growing water emergency.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, the situation is worse in areas such as Hazratbal, Burzahama, Gassoo, Khimber, Danihama, New Theed, Harwan, Dara, Wanihama, Syedpora, Mulphaq and Tailbal in Srinagar and outskirts.<\/p>\n
The prolonged heatwave has scorched the Valley, pushing temperatures in Srinagar above 37 degrees Celsius \u2014 levels not seen since the early 1950s. But beyond the discomfort of soaring heat, it is the shrinking water bodies \u2014 rivers, canals, and streams \u2014 that are ringing alarm bells.<\/p>\n
Paddy farmers in these once water-rich belts now find their fields parched and cracking. With little to no water in the irrigation channels that traditionally nourished their crops, many are on the verge of losing their entire harvest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation is alarming. There is no water left in the streams. Our fields are drying, and if this continues, the entire crop will fail,\u201d said Ghulam Nabi, a farmer from Mulphaq, pointing to his half-wilted rice seedlings that are turning yellow under the sun.<\/p>\n
Farmers are now turning to electric and petrol-powered motors, trying to pump water from distant sources or what little remains in ponds or hand-dug wells. But the widespread drying of canals has rendered even these efforts largely futile.<\/p>\n
For many families in these areas, paddy cultivation is not just a seasonal activity \u2014 it\u2019s their main source of food and income. With ration entitlements per family reduced in recent years and market prices of rice soaring, they have increasingly come to rely on home-grown rice to get through the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Srinagar: As Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir faces one of its worst dry spells in decades, farmers are struggling to irrigate their paddy fields amid a growing water emergency. According to Kashmir Media Service, the situation is worse in areas such as Hazratbal, Burzahama, Gassoo, Khimber, Danihama, New Theed, Harwan, Dara, Wanihama, Syedpora, Mulphaq …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":178442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-178441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-occupied-jammu-and-kashmir","tag-top-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t