Concrete Barrier Leaves 150 Kashmir Fishing Families Without Catch

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By Syed Sammar Mehdi

Srinagar- For Abdul Rashid Waza, a fisherman from Beerwah, the Sukhnag stream has brought two years of frustration. 

He says he and other fishermen have watched their catch disappear since a concrete structure built beneath a bridge at Makhama blocked fish from swimming upstream.

About 150 fishing families from nearly a dozen villages in the Beerwah area depend on the stream for their livelihood. According to the fishermen, the obstruction has stopped their fishing activities for the past two years, cutting off an important source of income.

“When we raised our voice against this injustice, the contractor got me arrested two years back,” Waza said. “Our voice is being muzzled and nobody has listened to us for the last two years.” 

The dispute centres on a concrete cross-section structure that the Roads and Buildings Division in Beerwah constructed beneath the Makhama bridge about two years ago. 

The department intended the work to protect the bridge’s abutments. Fishermen and environmental activists say the structure has obstructed the movement of fish upstream, disrupting the stream’s aquatic ecosystem and the livelihoods of communities dependent on it.

A delegation of the Jammu and Kashmir Climate Action Group, led by its chairman, Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat, visited Makhama and met the affected fishermen. Accompanied by senior group members Irshad Mushtaq, Advocate Shakir Parray and Tariq Bhat, the delegation joined the Sukhnag Fishermen Association in protesting against the construction.

Bhat called the structure illegal, alleging that the Roads and Buildings Division had proceeded without obtaining consent from the Fisheries and Flood Control departments.

“The Fisheries Department had written a letter to the Executive Engineer R&B Beerwah in this regard, but he didn’t act till date even after more than 18 months,” Bhat said.

The Assistant Director of Fisheries in Budgam had also raised concerns and communicated with the executive engineer, according to Bhat. “The construction continued despite those objections, leaving the fishermen waiting for administrative action.”

The group has asked the authorities to restore the stream’s flow by constructing a fish ladder at Makhama. Such a passage would allow fish to move past the concrete obstruction and reach upstream habitats.

The dispute also brings renewed attention to the environmental pressures facing the Sukhnag, a designated trout stream that has previously faced illegal riverbed mining. 

Bhat said a construction company had extracted material from the streambed for years before the group secured an order from the National Green Tribunal to stop the work about two years ago.

He alleged that the concrete construction beneath the Makhama bridge violates the National Water Policy and the Jammu and Kashmir Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act, 2010.

Bhat has appealed to Chief Engineer R&B Central Kashmir Ishfaq Beigh, Budgam Deputy Commissioner Jatin Kishore and Jammu and Kashmir Director of Fisheries Abdul Majid Tak to intervene and resolve the dispute.

He said the group would approach the National Green Tribunal again if the authorities failed to act.

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