Heritage Chinar trees face axe of development, citizens protest

The Srinagar district administration has come under severe criticism for allowing the felling of Chinars to pave the way for the construction of a flyover.

More than 10 Chinars, some as old as 150 years, have been felled in the heart of Srinagar, near the upscale Tourist Reception Centre,

Up in arms against the state government, people from different walks of life criticised the move as an attempt to destroy Kashmir's identity. These people organised unique protests to compel authorities to stop the felling of trees. From forming a human chain around the Chinars to holding a musical programme and staging a skit, civil society groups went all out to make their discontent clear.

"The government should have worked on an alternative rather than cutting the trees. Chinar is our identity. We are not against development, but this is unacceptable," said Javid Parsa, a civil society member.

Chinars form an essential part of Kashmir's identity, history, culture and heritage. Part of Kashmir's folk lore, many poets have referred to the tree as Shehej Boune (soothing tree). The autobiography of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was titled Aatish-e-Chinar, which was translated into English by Khushwant Singh and named Flames of the Chinar.

Walking on the crispy golden leaves in autumn is nothing short of a heritage walk in Kashmir. "We have a Chinar at Pagalpora, which dates back to the time of Emperor Shah Jahan," said Zareef Ahmad Zareef, a noted poet and satirist who was part of the protest.

According to the Chinar census of 2007, there are 38,401 Chinar trees in the Kashmir valley. These include 5,306 Chinars above 400 years. Officially, the felling of Chinar trees is banned in Kashmir. However, the authorities can grant permission to fell trees under extreme circumstances.

Satish Razdan, Director of Economic Reconstruction Agency, which is constructing the flyover said, "We will plant 10, even 15 Chinars to make up for each one that was cut. We have, in fact, saved three big Chinars. We have cut 10 Chinars. We are trying to save the eleventh one."