Camera/Edit: Khan Mudasir/GK
Residents of Gaw Kadal and adjoining areas in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk have accused authorities of failing to dredge the ‘Tsoont Kol’ stream in the area even as dozens of families had been displaced from their homes more than a decade ago in the name of “reviving” the stream.
The affected families, approximately sixty of them, whose ancestors had been dwelling in Tsoont Kol in the mini-houseboats, popularly known as ‘dongas’ in the local lexicon- said they were shifted from the area during nineties “on the pretext of dredging reviving the stream”.
However, more than a decade down the line, the progress into the restoration work has not gone beyond merely razing the dongas and makeshift sheds of the Tsoont Kol dwellers, the locals said.
The locals expressed their dismay over the alleged neglect by the successive governments regarding the revival of the crucial water stream.
“It has been more than a decade since the dwellers were shifted, but unfortunately, not a single step has been taken to restore the pristine glory of the stream till date,” Shakil Ahmad Khan, a local said while talking to Greater Kashmir.
The locals said it was shocking to see the water stream choke for life despite the area being a stone’s throw away from city centre Lal Chowk.