Shakeel A Khan
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Dec 21: In the absence of effective governance construction of shopping complexes and houses is going on unabated in flood channels and agricultural land. From Wanpoh to Qazigund and from Srinagar to Sonamarg, illegal constructions are going on with any check on them. If the measures are not put in place to check these constructions, which are in violation of the laws, there will be shortage of food after few years. The people of the state will have to depend on other states to meet their food requirements. "After the devastating floods thousands of people were raised to the ground. There is no harm in constructing the new houses. But many people have violated the norms in the pretext of the flood. From Dal Lake to green belt the construction of the shopping complexes and houses is taking place at a tremendous pace," said Khazir Mohammad, a resident of Dalgate. Not only this, as he went on saying, the people whose houses are old fashioned have found this as an opportunity to raise these structures down to pave way for the new constructions since there is no body to ask them for the required formalities. He said the coalition government counting its last days has turned a blind towards this issue, serious in nature. The flood which smashed the dreams of most of the valleyties has come as a blessing in disguise for the rich people who are all out to purchase the left over land in the peripheries of the Srinagar city. The rates are all time high in these areas because these were least affected by the floods. "After the devastating floods the land mafia is eying the prized land which is in the lap of the Zabarwan hills. The brokers could be seen busy in the areas like Gulab Bagh, Habak, Zakura, Lal Bazar, Nowshehra, Sikh Bagh, Ganderbal, Chatterhama, Harwan, Danihama, Telbal, Nishat, Shalimar and in the most of these areas the deal has been struck," said Nazar-ul-Islam from Harwan. As per Nazar, it has led to the manifold increase in the rates of the land in these areas. Constructing the buildings and the houses in these sensitive areas is going to cause ecological imbalance. These areas which are witnessing the surge in the constructions which are natural shelter to the wild animals and may face the extinction, Nazar went on saying. |
