Qazigund, May 26: Annual traditional fishing festival was celebrated on Sunday in Panzath village of South Kashmir’s Qazigund area wherein dozens of people joined for fishing and cleaning initiative in the Panzath stream .
Every year, on this day, youth, men, and children wake up early in the morning, take wicker baskets, and enter the Panzath Nag stream from the top, moving slowly downstream.
Locals said the day feels like the festival of Eid for them, as they spend it fishing in the waters of the famous Panzath Nag.
The name “Panzath” is a combination of two words: “Paanch” and “Haath,” meaning 500 in English, and “Nag,” which means spring. It refers to the 500 springs that locals believe the village has, though only a few are visible. The village is also mentioned in historical texts, they said.
Aabid Rasool, a local, told Rising Kashmir that the festival is celebrated every year with great enthusiasm and is being organised since ages. In recent years,owing to social media platforms, more people have started attending the festival and taking an interest in it.
He said they want this initiative to gain global attention and attract people to this lesser-known tourist spot. He mentioned that the spring’s downstream irrigation supports some 50 villages, and the stream is cleared of weeds during the fishing initiative.
“The springs irrigate agricultural land and provide drinking water up to the villages of Vessu, which is about six kilometers from here. The festival takes place each year on the day of ‘Rohan Posh’ or the day after, during which flower petals are sprinkled over graves,” he said.
He also said that the fishing and cleaning festival has been recognized in PM Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ program. “We also appeal to the government to promote this place, as it has great potential for tourism,” he added.
In his Mann Ki Baat address, the PM said, “Panzath Nag – the community dedicates a day each year during the annual fruit blossom season to clean the water bodies in the village.”
