Cherylann Mollan
BBC News, Mumbai
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The chinary leaves run shades of red, orange and yellow during the fall
Was it pruning or slaughter?
The alleged hacking of the sea cherium to the cashmere administered by the Indians triggered the indignation, the inhabitants and the photos suggesting that they have been slaughtered, while the government insists that it was routine pruning. The debate has renewed the emphasis on the endangered tree and the efforts to preserve it.
Chinar is an emblematic symbol of the cashmere landscape and a major tourist print, especially in autumn when the trees let it light up in shades of ignited red with a hot auburn.
The trees are from Central Asia but were introduced in cashmere centuries ago by Mughal emperors and princely kings. Over the years, they have come to occupy an important place in cashmere culture.
But rapid urbanization, illegal forest exploitation and climate change threaten their survival, encouraging the authorities to take measures to keep them.
The government of Jammu-et-Cachemire geotagnated chinary trees in order to keep them and their health. The project is to attach a QR code to each tree with information on its location, age and other physical characteristics.
“We digitally protect the Chinals,” explains Syed Tariq, a scientist who directs the project. He explains that the information provided by the QR code can help residents and tourists to know more about a tree, but this can also help to counter problems such as illegal or precipitated cuts.
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An official scanned a plate coded by QR on a Chinaire in a Srinagar garden
The project has geotated around 29,000 hounds so far, with 6,000 to 7,000 others to be mapped.
Despite its heritage value, there was no appropriate account of these trees, explains Mr. Syed. While government files cite 40,000, it calls the figure questionable but is certain that their figures have decreased.
This is a problem because the tree takes at least 50 years to reach maturity. Ecologists say that new plantations are faced with challenges such as the decrease in space. In addition, the Chinaires need a fresh climate to survive, but the region has experienced warmer summers and snow -free winters lately.
But on the right side, these trees can live for hundreds of years – the oldest hunter in the region would be around 700 years old. The majority of trees have at least a few centuries and have massive trunks and tentacular awnings.
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Visitors are walking in the Moghal garden of Srinagar, covered in the fallar leaves of Chinar
The trees received maximum patronage during the Mughole period, which extended from the early 1500s in the mid -1800s. Many trees that existed in the valley were planted during this period, says Syed.
The Mughal kings, which have reigned over many parts of ancient India, has made cashmere their summer getaway because of its cool climate and its beautiful landscapes. They also erected “pleasure gardens” – famous landscaping gardens for their symmetry and greenery – for their entertainment.
The Chinar appreciated the place of the square in these gardens and the trees were generally planted along the water canals to improve the beauty of the place. Many of these gardens still exist today.
According to government literature, in the Mughal emperor of the 16th century, Akbar planted around 1,100 trees in one of these pleasure garden near the famous Lake Dal in Srinagar, but around 400 have perished over the years due to projects and road diseases caused by pests.
Emperor Jahangir, Akbar’s son, would have planted four chiners on a small island of Dal Lake, giving him the name Chil Chinar (four Chinars) – now a tourist major. Over time, two trees have been lost in age and illness, until the government replaced them with mature trees transplanted in 2022.
Interestingly, the Chinar is protected by the 1969 law on the preservation of Jammu-et-Cachemire of 1969, which regulates its slaughter and its export and requires official approval even for pruning. The law remains in force despite the loss of the region in 2019.
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A view of the Chinaires of the Campus of the University of Kashmir in Srinagar
But the environmental activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat says that the authorities often exploit legal shortcomings to reduce the chinary trees.
“Under the costume of pruning, whole trees are slaughtered,” he said, citing a recent allegation in the district of Anantnag which aroused indignation.
“The government grooved the trees on one side, but cuts them on the other,” he said. He adds that if the authorities remove the trees for urban projects, the inhabitants also fell them illegally.
Chinals have durable hardwood, ideal for sculptures, furniture and artifacts. Residents also use them for firewood and plant -based medicine.
Government projects like Geotagging sensitize, explains Mr. Bhat. He adds that the Kashmiris, deeply attached to the Chinaire as part of their inheritance, now denounces his slaughter or his damage.
Last week, many have published photos of the trees allegedly chopped with Anantnag on X (formerly Twitter) while the opposition leaders demanded that the government are launching an investigation and taking action against the culprits.
“The government should protect the trees in letter and spirit,” said Mr. Bhat.
“Because without chinar, cashmere will not feel at home.”
