Dal Lake all set to have its first ‘green village’

Srinagar, Mar 22: Sofia Mohalla, a village located within Dal Lake in Srinagar city, will be declared a “green village” on April 22, World Earth Day. The move aims to preserve the lake and promote tourism in the area.
Khursheed Ahmad, a resident of Sofi Mohalla who sells artificial jewellery on a boat at the Dal Lake said they have high expectations and want to see their village green.
“Our area is a tourist area. The famous vegetable market is near us. When there is sanitation and greenery obviously tourists would like to visit here and they would get attracted towards the place,” he said.
Khurhseed has decided to skip his work on Sunday for a cause. A sole breadwinner of his family, the 30-year-old joined other villagers and activists to rid Sofi Mohalla of solid waste.
“Once we do it then our children will also have an idea of saving the Dal and the environment and our village would be an example for others,” he said.
“We went around and collected plastics, polythenes, and other waste. It was for the first time such an initiative was launched in our village,” said Khursheed.
Nadeem Qadri, J&K Consultant, Earth Day Network (EDN) India said over the years they are running a campaign called Save Dal Lake and spent every Sunday to save the lake.
“We were successful in cleaning Ghat No 1 to 16. After that we decided to go inside the lake. In 2022, we had the resolution to adopt one village as green village and we choose Sofi Mohalla for that,” he said.
“We visited there and there was huge garbage which was making its way to the lake. We decided to visit there and organized cleaning drives and involved people there. The village was made plastic free and there was complete transformation,” he said.
Nadeem said then they also requested the Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) to cooperate in making the green village complete. “We will be happier to declare it as green village on April 22 on World Earth Day,” he said.
For the first time, Eco Development Committee (EDC) having 15 members was created in Dal Lake for the conservation of the water body. This is the first EDC in Dal Lake.
“We divided this conservation model into three categories that is children, youth, and elders. We visited this small hamlet and interacted with the people. After preparing the ground, we brought our green ambassadors and administration,” he said.
“I received a call from our office in Washington and they assured me of all support for certifying Sofi Mohalla as a green village. EDA will formally give them certification on April 22,” he said.
It will be the first green village inside Dal Lake. It is a small hamlet with a population of 70 people in 10 households.Few days ago Bollywood actor Imran Khan in his Kashmir visit also expressed his interest to join the campaign.
There are 35 villages in the dal lake having population of 35000 people. He said later they will plan to declare 10 more such villages as green villages.
“We will also create a nature school there. We have registered 25 students in the Sofi Mohalla wherein they are getting a better-quality education. We do it voluntarily and this is an unending process,” he said.
Duha Ibrahim, Director Nature Tourism Projects who is also part of the green village initiative said the interiors of Dal Lake have faced neglect and this move of adopting the village as the green village will boost the economy and tourism there.
“Hundreds of people are dependent on Dal as they earn their livelihood. When it is clean and green, they will only be able to earn their livelihood otherwise it is impossible,” she said.She said most of the people in the Sofi Mohalla sell and supply their vegetable produce at the floating vegetable market in the lake.