In Kashmir’s shifting political landscape, its mighty chinar, the silent bellwether of its changing seasons, again finds itself caught in an irony: Those accused of defending its felling when in government often emerge as its fiercest champions once out of power.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah has triggered outrage by supporting the chopping of these majestic, long-lived deciduous trees in the name of development, with rival Mehbooba Mufti accusing him of destroying the Valley’s prized living heritage.
The former chief minister’s aide, Naeem Akhtar, has lauded the purported efforts of Mehbooba’s late father, Mufti Mohammad Saeed, to preserve chinars, known for their massive canopies and maple-like leaves that turn a blazing red, gold or amber in autumn.
The ruling National Conference has responded in kind, accusing Mehbooba’s Peoples Democratic Party of presiding over the destruction of chinars when it was in power.
Omar recently favoured the felling of chinars for road widening in his home constituency of Ganderbal.
“The chinars cause a lot of traffic jams (here). The alternative road we are building, after circumventing the hospital — these chinars somewhere hit that as well,” he told reporters.
“But our problem is that the moment we touch the chinars, you forget Jammu and Kashmir. Even people from outside raise a hue and cry. Those people who can’t locate Ganderbal on the map message me from Mumbai (saying) ‘You are killing Chinars’.”
Omar added: “We have no intention to kill chinars, but development and these things (preservation) should go side by side. We will have to look for a way out.”
The chief minister said that when the chinars were planted, the population
was smaller and these roads were not needed so urgently.
“But today, the population is rising, the load is increasing. We will have to cut the chinars and plant 10 trees somewhere else away from the roads. That will be better,” he said.
Mehbooba reminded Omar that a chinar takes several human generations to reach its full glory. “Yet Omar Abdullah thinks saplings can compensate for felling these centuries-old icons of Kashmir,” she said.
“You cannot replace centuries of heritage with a plantation drive! The irony is staggering Omar as Commerce Minister in the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was associated with the ban on world famous Kashmiri Toosh shawls,” Mehbooba posted on X.
“Now our Chinars face the axe. First a blow to Kashmir’s woven heritage (and) now a threat to its living heritage. Kashmir is not his to dismantle, one tradition and one tree at a time.”
PDP leader Akhtar said that when Mehbooba’s father “Mufti Saheb” was chief minister, he had “received information that chinars were to be axed for the construction of a college building in Ganderbal”.
“He lost no time in visiting the site, discussed with engineers and the architect. A solution was found and the fabled chenar baagh was saved. College was built,” he wrote.
National Conference spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar claimed that when Mehbooba’s party was in power, the grade separator at the Srinagar Tourist Reception Centre was conceived and constructed.
“Under the watch of @MehboobaMufti, several centuries-old Chinar trees were cut to build this useless structure, which has done little to ease traffic congestion in the area,” he wrote on X, responding to Akhtar’s claim.
“Also the work to cut the heritage Emporium garden, which houses scores of Chinar trees, was also conceived during your tenure. And if I’m not wrong, you were the R&B Minister in the government.”
Sheikh Junaid, a freelancer, claimed the PDP had not expressed any concern when the Government Degree College was built in the famous Chinar Bagh of #Ganderbal. “At that time, the ‘Chinar’ was merely a poplar tree!” he wrote.
Reckless felling and diseases have shrunk the Valley’s Chinar population from 40,000 a few decades ago to between 32,000 and 35,000.
Last year, the J&K Forest Research Institute and the forest department said they had geo-tagged over 28,000 chinar trees across the region, creating a comprehensive database for their conservation.
Under the geo-tagging process, officials attach each surveyed chinar with a QR code, recording information relating to 25 indices, including geographical location, age, health and other patterns. It enables conservationists to track changes and address the risks to these colossal, shady trees.