Kashmir is blessed to have the jagged peaks of mountains and in the lap of those mountains we have hundreds of alpine lakes. Alpine lakes form the pulse of the highland environment and are the most critical metric of flora and fauna of this region. While thousands of trekkers worldwide visit these alpine lakes, camping on their shores and angling in their waters. Right from the early part of the twentieth century many tourists have visited these places for spiritual and mental peace.
The lakes like Gangbal and Kaunsarnag hold special significance for Hindus as these lakes are considered holy places. There is always a solace and peace which overwhelms one when one visits these places. There is a calming effect which overcomes one when going trekking to these places. These lakes are full of fish like brown trout and rainbow trout. A permission for angling is provided by the fisheries department where an angler can use an unanimated non-living bait and is allowed to catch a specific number of fish per day.
These lakes are our treasures. We need to preserve them at all costs. Most of these lakes are fed by mountain-top or mountain-bottom glaciers. With the absence of snowfall in the core period of winter from two consecutive years the water supply to these lakes could get adversely affected. Consequently, the water fed to rivulets downstream from these lakes could also get affected thus resulting in general water supply shortage.
Also, the fact that hundreds of tour operators are offering affordable packages to trek these mountains makes it a matter of concern. These places are ecologically very sensitive and every care must be taken to ensure that over-tourism should not harm this fine balance. Large footfalls can wreak havoc with the ecology of the place.
The tour operators who operate these tours must be told to follow a certain protocol like how many nights they are allowed to stay at these lakes, what stuff they can use as bait for angling and strictly advised to clear the area before leaving.
These alpine lakes are our most important assets. We need to protect them at all costs.
