OPINION EDITORIAL ON HERITAGE CREATIVE BEATS INTERALIA WIDE ANGLE OTHER VIEW ART SPACE

What Would Kashmir Be Without Naags?

Our naags have either dried or are drying. Many are almost dead. Now imagine Kashmir without its naags.

For centuries, naags were the invisible arteries of Kashmir’s civilization. Villages were established where springs existed. Fields were irrigated through channels fed by them. Entire communities depended on their reliable flow for drinking water. Even the cultural imagination of Kashmir drew from these springs – many were associated with shrines, saints, and sacred stories.

Verify Before You Enroll: Protecting Students from Uncertain Admissions

Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Champions: A Historic Ranji Trophy Victory

When Ten Nights Can Change entire Life

Now imagine the valley if these springs disappear.

The scenario is not merely environmental; it is existential. If naags vanish, Kashmir will slowly transform from a naturally watered valley into a region dependent entirely on artificial water systems. The consequences would be alarming. Rural drinking water sources would shrink. Streams that originate from springs would weaken. Agriculture would suffer as underground water tables decline. Villages that once relied on local springs would be forced to depend on tanker water and expensive infrastructure.

In some places, this future has already begun. That we don’t see this as a threat is our bad luck.

Across the valley, springs that once flowed throughout the year now run dry in summer. Some have been buried under construction. Others have become dumping sites for plastic and waste. In certain villages the stone basins remain as silent monuments to a water source that no longer exists. When a spring dies, it rarely returns easily; the underground channels that fed it may already be damaged beyond repair.

This is why the disappearance of........

© Kashmir Images