Anantnag: Residents of Muniward in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district have taken it upon themselves to clean their local stream, a tributary of the Jhelum, after the authorities ignored their requests for help.
Leading the effort is Sajad Muniwardi, a local photojournalist and another social activist and acclaimed photojournalist Javed Dar.
Seeing the stream filled with garbage, they, along with the youth of the village, decided to take action.
“In our village, there is a stream called Sandran that comes from the Jhelum. Sadly, people have turned it into a dumping site. It hurts to see it in this condition, so we decided to clean it,” Javed can be heard saying in interviews conducted by several portals.
“We used to drink and bathe in this water as kids, but now it’s polluted. We will keep cleaning it until it looks beautiful again,” he said.
Another volunteer urged the government to help. “Authorities should also support efforts to keep our streams clean. We are doing our part, but we need their help too.”
Locals have requested officials to send garbage collection vehicles to their village to prevent further pollution.
Speaking to Free Press Kashmir, Sajad Muniwardi said, “The stream was badly polluted and could cause diseases. We have now decided to clean it every Sunday until it is fully restored.”
Villagers had asked for government support multiple times, but seeing no response, they took the initiative themselves. With water levels dropping due to climate change, they hope their work will encourage others to protect Kashmir’s natural water sources.
