Srinagar, Mar 4: Taking serious note of the recent news report by Sajjad Andrabi highlighting the absence of a modern waste management plant in Gulmarg, the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Society Forum (JKCSF) has expressed grave concern over the mounting environmental crisis in the world-famous tourist destination.
“Gulmarg, counted among Asia’s premier tourist hubs and winter sports centres, has been witnessing a sharp rise in tourist arrivals during 2024, with the upward trend continuing into 2025. While tourism remains the backbone of the local economy, unregulated influx and lack of scientific planning have resulted in increasing waste generation, pollution of water bodies, pressure on forests, and overall ecological imbalance,” JKCSF President, Qayoom Wani said in a press release.
JKCSF endorses the observations made by environmental experts that the absence of a high-tech waste management plant in Gulmarg is a critical lapse. Without proper waste segregation, recycling, and scientific disposal, the fragile mountain ecosystem is being pushed toward a dangerous tipping point.
The brunt of water contamination and environmental degradation is being borne by the local population, it added.
The Forum also supports the expert recommendation to draw lessons from Bhutan, where a regulated and limited tourism policy ensures that economic growth does not come at the cost of environmental destruction. The Forum strongly appeals to the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister to order a comprehensive, time-bound investigation into environmental violations and land misuse in Gulmarg and adjoining areas, it added.
