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Land conservation goes unnoticed in Anantnag 'Apple Valley' losing charm to commercial establishments 8/27/2015 11:58:03 PM Saahil Suhail Early Times Report Anantnag, Aug 27: In absence of any stringent measures from the government, the famous 'Apple Valley' in Srigufwara, Anantnag is fast losing charm to commercial establishments which are coming up all along the road. Chinni Wudar or the 'Apple Valley' is lined up by apple orchards on both sides. Tourists visiting Pahalgam could be seen entering the apple orchards and clicking photographs during the tourist season. However, the trend is now witnessing steep decrease, courtesy haphazard constructions. Dozens of restaurants, stalls and shawl emporiums are being set up on the fertile horticulture land along the 6 km stretch of the road between Kanelwon to Srigufwara. "Due to unabated constructions on its both sides the road stretch is fast losing its charm," tourism experts told Early Times. They say that it is the charm of apple trees that attracts tourists to take this route to Pahalgam but it is sad that people are raising constructions, thus devastating this famous tourist spot. "Government did nothing for the Apple Valley. Its orchards and natural beauty boosted it automatically within a short span of time, but now non-locals are destroying it," Mushtaq Ahmad, a local resident said. "Influential and rich are luring poor orchardist and compelling them to sell the land. Later they raise constructions over it despite being 'Nehreh Awal' land," he added. Citing examples, he said that a Mattan resident lured his neighbour and managed to construct a shopping complex which houses restaurant, shawl emporium, etc. He said the land owner chopped offer 20-year-old apple trees costing lakhs of rupees and each tree was having capacity of producing 30-40 boxes. With the Horticulture Department expressing helplessness, the Revenue Department admits that major portion of the land is 'Nehre Awal' and can't be used for commercial purpose. "Yes, it is fact that the land is 'Nehre Awal'. It can't be used for commercial purposes. Whenever we found anyone raising construction we initiated action," said Tehsildar. Srigufwara. However, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag Muneer-ul-Islam contested the version of Tehsildar by saying that land under horticulture on both the sides of road is 'Madani'. "Since it is 'Madnai' land we can't disallow people to use it for other purposes," he said. He however added that orchardists need to be guided and counseled to preserve the Apple Valley.   Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network     Comment on this Story

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