“How the restoration of a lake has given locals a lifeline as they harvest Nadru after two decades?”
Saliq Manzoor and Tashir Khan
BANDIPORA: As a young boy, Javid Ahmad heard stories of how the villagers watched helplessly as Nadru – the cherished lotus stem – disappeared from Wullar Lake, swallowed by pollution and environmental neglect. In the last decade or so, it completely vanished without a trace. An educated young man left idle by unemployment; Ahmad had little hope.
But this year, everything has changed.
At dawn, Ahmad joins other local harvesters, wading into the revitalized waters of Wullar Lake. By 9 AM, he begins collecting lotus stems, and by evening, he’ll collect 10-11 kg of Nadru. Each bundle sells for ₹200-300, providing a critical income for him and other unemployed youth in the region.
For the first time in two decades, Nadru’s harvest is lighting up the lives of the locals.
This resurrection is no accident. The Wullar Conservation and Management Authority (WUCMA) has strategically dredged and cleaned approximately 5 square kilometers of the lake. The Saderkoot basin of the lake is now witnessing a revival of this culturally and economically significant plant.
Their efforts have restored not just an ecosystem, but a community’s lifeline.
“I’m happy,” says Imtiyaz Dar, excitedly announcing that he can now again cultivate Nadru with his own hands.
“After 20 years, Nadru has started growing here again,” shares an elderly local, his voice filled with gratitude. “We leave early in the morning and return home around 4 PM, earning about ₹500-600 a day.
WUCMA Project Coordinator Owais Farooq Mir explains that the dredging and desilting improved the water quality and sunlight penetration, creating ideal conditions for Nadru to flourish.
Reflecting on the achievements, Mir is mindful of challenges like pollution, encroachments, and limited funding for the project. But WUCMA is working on several strategies to ensure sustainability, he reveals.
Besides generating awareness campaigns, taking pollution control measures, and planning sustainable resource management, Mir says, “While the crop is thriving naturally this year, we hope to develop a sustainable harvesting mechanism to ensure long-term benefits.”
“The plant’s return is more than an ecological success—it’s a cultural revival and provides livelihood opportunities for local communities,” he says.
Locals echo the same sentiment. Young men who once struggled with unemployment are now finding work harvesting and selling lotus stems, with prices reaching ₹200-300 per bundle in the market. “I am a graduate, but I am here collecting Nadru because it is our only source of income,” a young man says as he wades into the waters, yanking at a stem.
With plans to introduce training programs for farmers and implement sustainable practices, WUCMA envisions a future where the lake’s resources can provide ecological and economic stability. “Nadru is part of our cultural heritage,” Mir reflects. “Its revival symbolizes the restoration of not just the lake but also the identity and pride of the region.”
Social activist Bilal Bhat warns that this fragile recovery depends on community responsibility. “If locals care for the lake,” he says, “Nadru will sustain livelihoods. But if we continue to pollute, this blessing will vanish.”
For the villagers who have witnessed the Nadru disappear and return, the resurrection highlights the delicate balance between nature and human activity.
Bhat, who links ongoing conservation efforts and responsible practices within communities to the long-term revival of the lake quotes a Kashmiri saying, “Khaat Booz, Kaan Thaw, Aeach Mexraw, Mahool Bachaw, Mahool Bachaw” (Listen Here, listen carefully, open your eyes, save the environment, save the environment.)
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