Rising KashmirRising KashmirRising Kashmir
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • Kashmir
    • City
    • Jammu
    • Politics
  • Health
  • Anchor
  • Features
  • Interview
  • Video
Search

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022

Categories

  • Anchor
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • City
  • Developing Story
  • Editorial
  • Education
  • Features
  • Health
  • Interview
  • Jammu
  • Jammu and Kashmir News
  • Kashmir
  • Kashmir Tourism
  • Kath Bath
  • National
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Top Stories
  • Trending
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Viewpoint
  • World
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Karewa: Kashmir’s geological treasure under threat
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Rising KashmirRising Kashmir
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • News
  • Health
  • Anchor
  • Features
  • Interview
  • Video
Search
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • Kashmir
    • City
    • Jammu
    • Politics
  • Health
  • Anchor
  • Features
  • Interview
  • Video
Follow US
© 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Rising Kashmir > Blog > Kashmir > Karewa: Kashmir’s geological treasure under threat
Kashmir

Karewa: Kashmir’s geological treasure under threat

Syeda Rafiyah
Last updated: March 17, 2023 12:21 am
Syeda Rafiyah
Published: March 17, 2023
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

Srinagar, March 16: The Karewa land in Kashmir, the fertile and ancient soils of Kashmir’s geological treasure have been affected over the years due to the construction of infrastructure, illegal excavation and are under constant threat.
The Kashmiri name Karewa is applied to the more or less flat terrace or tablelands which cover a great part of the valley, especially on the left bank of the river Jhelum.
Waseem Ahmad, a resident of Budgam said over the years there has been a decline in the Karewa land as the district has many brick kilns. He said the soil which is material is used for making brick is taken from these karewas.
“Brick kilns are already polluting the environment and these also have caused a lot of damage to the karewa land. In future the agriculture land would face further damage if the excavation continues like this,” he said.
The Karewa deposits have different soils and sediments such as sand, clay, silt, shale, mud, lignite, and waste. Hence, these are very useful for agricultural and horticultural activities.
Although the government has banned the exaction of soil in the karewa but it lacks implementation and people continue illegal excavation of the soil from the lands.
Iftikar Ahmad, a resident of Pulwama said the illegal exaction of soil continues to go unchecked in the area which is not only causing damaged to the karewa but also affects the agriculture activities.
“There are no checks on the illegal excavation of soil in these karewa and people do take soil during the night hours which must be stopped,” he said.
Iftikar, who is a farmer, said once the excavation of land happens, it is exposing the entire land patch on that particular area to grave risks of landslides.
When the 125-km-long Qazigund-Baramulla rail line was constructed massive portions of karewas in Pulwama, Budgam and Baramulla districts were razed to the ground for clay.
“When land were razed to the ground for clay, then also people were silent but today we are seeing the impact as these have been further damaged,” said Tajamul, a resident of Delina, Baramulla.
“Even today the karewa are dotted with deep and huge pits where from the clay was taken. When it rains in spring landslides happen and these damage apple orchards,” he said.
Experts said the karewa are an important ecological and geological feature of the Kashmir valley, formed over millions of years by sedimentation and erosion when the valley large lake transformed into Kashmir valley.
Rayees Ahmad Shah, Project Associate at the Department of Geoinformatics, University of Kashmir said the karewas were once important for the landscape beauty and these karewas were a record of past of the climate changes that have happened in Kashmir.
He said rapid urbanization and infrastructural development in the region has led to the destruction of the karewas. The excavation and levelling of the karewas have also caused soil erosion leading to landslides and other environmental problems.
“Many people took the soil as a material for land filling and for construction purpose and many structures were raised in the land. Due to the excavation over the years it has affected the karewa,” he said.
Rayees called the karewas a book or an archive of information. “But over the years, these have been damaged affecting plant and animal life which used to be there,” he said.
“Karewa was the natural topography in Kashmir but it is being damaged and pollution and particulate matter is also increasing which affect vegetation. We are losing an archive source. It was a geological heritage and it is under threat,” he said.
Apart from agriculture, karewa region also supports small-scale industries such as handicrafts, pottery etc. which are part Kashmir culture for centuries and provide employment opportunities for thousands of people.
Notably, Kashmir saffron, which received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2020 for its uniqueness and high aroma, bitter flavour, is grown on these karewas.
Tahir Ahmad, Agriculture Extension Assistant Agriculture Department Kashmir said the karewa land in Kashmir once added beauty to the landscape have shrunk and it has largely affected the natural beauty.
“When the top layer of the soil is damaged and soil erosion happens it affects the fertility of the land and ultimately affecting agriculture. These karewa were also natural habitat for plants and animals and human activities have put an effect on the biodiversity,” he said.
“The karewa were unique in Kashmir but these have been damaged due to infrastructural development like construction of roads, buildings and other structures,” he said.
Tahir said the pollution has also got increased while the plantation has been decreased due to urbanization and construction of houses, roads and shopping complexes.

CJ stresses judiciary’s commitment of fair & efficient justice to people
Black glass panels made mandatory at all meat shops in Leh for public health, civic aesthetics
Bhartiya Bhasha Utsav-2024: VC CUK launches ‘my language, my signature’ campaign
Pi Jam, Indian Army empower students in Kupwara’s remote areas
Over 2200 SHGs operating in Ganderbal under Umeed scheme

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp Copy Link Print
Previous Article Omar Abdullah questions rationale behind election delay
Next Article IUST organizes awareness campaign on drug abuse
Leave a Comment Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected

1MFollowersLike
262kFollowersFollow
InstagramFollow
234kSubscribersSubscribe
Google NewsFollow

Latest News

Tourism comes to grind halt in Sonamarg after Pahalgam terror attack
Kashmir
May 29, 2025
SKUAST-K to establish advanced reproductive biotechnology centre to enhance animal breeding
Kashmir
May 29, 2025
DC calls for intensified action against drug abuse at NCORD review in Gbl
Kashmir
May 29, 2025
Shikara operators continue to ignore mandatory safety protocols
City
May 29, 2025

Recent Posts

  • Tourism comes to grind halt in Sonamarg after Pahalgam terror attack
  • SKUAST-K to establish advanced reproductive biotechnology centre to enhance animal breeding
  • DC calls for intensified action against drug abuse at NCORD review in Gbl
  • Shikara operators continue to ignore mandatory safety protocols
  • IUST partners with government for building safer J&K

Recent Comments

  1. BASHIR AHMAD BHAT on Poor hotel accommodation, lack of medical facilities irk Kashmiri pilgrims in Saudi Arabia, video goes viral
  2. sree vishnu movies on Pahalgam attack shatters Kashmir’s film tourism revival
  3. SavePlus on AI and Behavioural Analytics in Gaming: Making the World of Gaming Better
  4. Parul on Govt acknowledges faulty streetlights on Narbal-Tangmarg road
  5. dr gora on Women Veterinarians and the Goal of Viksit Bharat

Contact Us

Flat No 7,Press Enclave, Srinagar, 190001
0194 2477887
9971795706
[email protected]
[email protected]

Quick Link

  • E-Paper
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Top Categories

Stay Connected

1.06MLike
262.5kFollow
InstagramFollow
234.3kSubscribe
WhatsAppFollow
Rising KashmirRising Kashmir
Follow US
© 2025. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?