The majestic Himalayan belt of Jammu and Kashmir, once a symbol of timeless beauty, strength, and natural harmony, is now being torn apart by reckless development, unscientific construction, and unforgivable political negligence. Landslides in Ramban, drying rivers, cracking hillsides, and displaced families are not just disasters, they are crimes born out of greed, silence, and failed leadership. This is not nature’s fury. This is man-made destruction, sanctioned by the very governments that promised protection, prosperity, and peace.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭

While politicians cut ribbons and announce new mega projects, the common people suffer. Families are buried under landslides. Villages are cut off from the world. Livelihoods vanish. The mountains are being ripped open for highways and tunnels, and no one in power seems to care about the human cost. The construction of roads must not be at the cost of lives.  We do not oppose development, we oppose development that kills. A road that buries a family under debris is not progressing. A tunnel that destroys an entire village is not growth. This is not infrastructure, this is injustice.

𝐀 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

1)𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟

The Jammu, Srinagar highway, the Chenani, Nashri tunnel, and the railway lines slicing through fragile mountain zones are causing more harm than good. The blasting of rocks, unscientific slope cutting, and lack of geological studies have made districts like Ramban disaster hotspots. These are not roads, they are scars carved into the soul of the Himalayas.

2) 𝐸𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑖𝑡

Forests are vanishing, rivers are polluted, springs are drying, and hills are being reduced to dust for road widening and mining. The Himalayas, a living, breathing ecosystem, are being sold to private contractors. All in the name of development that benefits the few while destroying the many.

3) 𝑆𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠

Indigenous people, especially the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities, are being pushed out of their ancestral lands. Forest dwellers are evicted, farmers are ignored. Those who have protected the mountains for generations are now treated like intruders on their own land.

4) 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 "𝑁𝑎𝑦𝑎 𝐾𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑚𝑖𝑟"

After the abrogation of Article 370, the Government of India promised a new dawn for Jammu and Kashmir. But what has reached the mountains is not light, it is darkness. Ecological collapse, unemployment, injustice. A Kashmir governed from Delhi, not cared for on the ground.

5) 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐹𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠

There are no early warning systems, no evacuation routes, no local disaster training. Relief arrives late or never. When landslides strike, the people are abandoned. The government’s disaster management is a disaster in itself.

6) 𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎 𝑆𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑁𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠

National media glorifies tunnel lengths and tourist footfall while ignoring the collapse of roads, homes, and lives. There is little reporting on the ecological cost of development, and even less on the suffering of the people who are left behind.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞

The ongoing environmental and human crisis in Jammu and Kashmir is not just mismanagement, it is a political and moral failure. A betrayal of promises, a betrayal of the Constitution, a betrayal of the land. We ask the governments, and we ask them loudly:

• Why were massive construction projects allowed in high-risk zones

• Where are the environmental assessments and scientific studies

• Who profits from this destruction, and who suffers

• Why are local communities excluded from decisions about their own futures

• Why has every landslide, every death, every broken house been met with silence

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐍𝐨𝐰

1) 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐼𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦

Put a complete halt on all ongoing construction in ecologically sensitive zones until proper geological, environmental, and social impact assessments are carried out.

2) 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑅𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝐴𝑐𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝐹𝑢𝑙𝑙

Give legal land rights to forest dwellers and indigenous communities. Respect their wisdom and role in protecting these lands.

3) 𝐹𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑉𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑠

Every family affected by landslides, floods, or eviction must be compensated immediately and rehabilitated with dignity.

4) 𝐸𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑎 𝑀𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐴𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦

Create an independent body with scientists, environmentalists, and local representatives to regulate all construction and development in the Himalayas.

5) 𝑅𝑒𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒

Future projects must follow sustainable design. Use environment friendly technologies. Respect the natural slopes, water systems, and forests.

6) 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑂𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒

If negligence or corruption leads to disaster, the responsible individuals must be investigated, exposed, and punished.

7) 𝐸𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐸𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠

Train local people in disaster response. Support their efforts to protect the land. Involve them in planning and decision making, they are the true custodians of the mountains.

𝐀 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝑇𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐽𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑢 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐾𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑚𝑖𝑟:

Your silence is being used against you. Your pain is being buried under roads that do not serve you. It is time to rise, to speak, to resist. These are your mountains, your rivers, your forests, and your fight.

𝑇𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐽 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐾 𝐴𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛:

Your failure is not invisible. The people are watching. History will not be kind to those who crushed the Himalayas for profit and power. The next disaster will not be dismissed. The next life lost will not be forgotten.

𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲.

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹.

𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱,

𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲,

𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗶𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲.