Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Jannat, who found mention in a Hyderabad school textbook recently after cleaning Dal lake for two years, wants to become a scientist to save the famous water body in Srinagar, as she turns 8 today.
Jannat’s Dal cleaning has gone popular in the Hindi school book namely “Megha” and the title of the story is “Jannat Ki Jannat”.
In order to make Dal lake pollution-free, Jannat is always spending some time cleaning the lake. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also praised her in his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio program.
The Kashmiri girl first came to limelight through a video two years ago where she was seen cleaning the lake along with her father while highlighting the plight of the lake.
At the age of 5, she started questioning her father Tariq Ahmed, who used to row a shikara (boat) in the Lake, to clean the lake of pollutants that include plastic bottles, polythene, used shoes, chips covers and other types of garbage.
For the past two years, she is accompanying her father every Sunday to clean whatever portion of the lake is possible. Both father-daughter live in the lake on a boat, which perhaps is the reason why they are so concerned about the preservation of the water body.
The father-daughter duo has a mission to see the lake as clean as possible, free from encroachments, garbage and above all to preserve nature’s beautiful gift bestowed on the people of Srinagar, a city of 1.5 million. Dal Lake is situated in the heart of Srinagar at Dalgate on one side and covers foreshore or boulevard road up to revered Hazratbal shrine and Rainawari area of the downtown city as well.
“People throwing garbage into the Lake hurts me the most. I have many times screamed at those who tried to pollute the Lake by throwing plastic bottles into it,” says Janat, who studies in class 2 in a Srinagar school.
While cleaning the lake along with her father on Sundays, Jannat says she was shocked to pull out used shoes, undergarments, used clothes, chips covers and other garbage items from the lake. With her father’s guidance, Janat has learned the art of rowing the boat (Shikara) also.
“My father has taught me everything about the Lake. He keeps on telling me how clean the lake was once and movies would be shot in the lake with houseboats in the background,” she says. “Today, lake is polluted on all sides and continues to be polluted by the people who have no mercy for it.”
For Jannat, Dal Lake is a natural gift for the people of Srinagar and entire Kashmir and preserving it is the duty of every single citizen of the Valley. “I am playing a bit so is my father. But that’s not enough. Two people can’t clean the entire lake,” she says.
Asked about her birthday wish, Jannat says with a gentle smile on her face: “I want to become a scientist, a good scientist so that I can find ways and means to preserve the Lake. I dream to come up with a remedy for growing weeds in the Lake, which make our efforts difficult when it comes to cleaning it. Unnecessary weeds are growing just because of pollution in the Lake.”
She says although it will take many years for her to become a scientist, till then J&K government must come up with something extraordinary to save the Lake. “We hear lot of announcements from the government, but on ground nothing much happens. There are a few cleaning machines installed in the Lake. I urge government to install as much cleaning machines as possible,” says Janat.
Her father, Tariq also feels proud to have a daughter like Janat. “Recently one of my friend from Hyderabad called me saying, my daughter’s efforts to clean the lake has got a mention a textbook there. That was really a proud moment for me.”
Tariq says there are so many reasons as to why Dal Lake is polluted and one of the major factors is unabated illegal construction of hotels, lodges and guest houses in the green area around the Lake. “This shouldn’t have happened but it has happened over two decades and permissions for constructing hotels have been given like anything. This has taken off the sheen from the lake,” he says.
“At present, an impression is being given that Lake is just an area where houseboats are kept, which is wrong. Huge portion of it has been encroached upon and there has been filling of the lake at various points where residential houses have been constructed.”
Tariq says he along with her daughter will continue to play their part in cleaning the lake but every citizen of Srinagar city must rise to an occasion to contribute in whatever they can to preserve this natural gift. “Otherwise, time is not far, when there would be just a small pond available for us out of the big Lake,” he says.
-ARK
