Recent weeks have brought unsettling scenes from several parts of Kashmir. 

Chinar trees stand cut, pruned into hollow forms, or pressed tightly against fresh layers of concrete and bitumen along expanding road corridors. 

Baramulla to Kupwara, Srinagar to Bandipora, Ganapora Kralgund in Handwara, Pulwama near the district court stretch, Thokerpora toward Pakherpora, Lalbazar near G D Goenka School, all present similar images of changing roadside landscapes. 

The language used in field discussions often circles around pruning, widening, development, while the trees themselves show signs of deep stress.

I have moved through these stretches over recent weeks, speaking with engineers, workers, and local residents while observing the condition of mature Chinars. 

The design becomes predictable in place after place: branches removed in ways that halt further growth, soil around trunks hardened by construction material, and road edges shifting closer to root systems that once had breathing space.

The Chinar, known locally as Booen, holds a central place in Kashmir’s identity. The tree, identified botanically as Platanus orientalis, carries formal recognition as the Royal Tree under Section 36 of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act 1939 (Samvat 1996). 

That legal recognition remains part of the region’s governance framework after many decades of administrative change.

Historical accounts trace the Chinar’s journey from central Iran into Kashmir’s landscape. One of the oldest known specimens, around 650 years in age, stands in Chattergam in Budgam district. Local tradition links its planting to Syed Qasim Shah........

© Kashmir Observer