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Srinagar: The government has restricted access to Kashmir’s high altitude reaches in recent months, affecting not just thrill-seeking tourists but a great many scientists who visit the region to research glaciers, water resources, alpine ecosystems and communities that inhabit its mountain pastures. The closure of high altitude routes, done citing “security reasons”, and the repeated denial of permissions by the police and the civil administration, has brought critical fieldwork to a halt for researchers in Kashmir.

Fieldwork meant to track disaster risks related to climate change are especially disrupted by the new restrictions. Researchers The Wire spoke to warn that it could sabotage scientific observations of the fragile Himalayan ecosystem, where changes are tracked both over long- and short-term periods.

Earth science researchers in Jammu and Kashmir say they are no longer able to collect samples from critical sites. Nor can they verify the remote-sensing data they have already collected, nor can they physically monitor developments in environmentally vulnerable zones.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks they complain about is the tiring permission process involving the civil administration, district magistrates, the Forest Department, police and army – all of which ultimately leads them to a dead end.

Researchers acknowledge that security considerations may necessitate restrictions in particular areas. All they seek is a predictable pattern to permissions, so that their research work can continue.

“We aren’t asking them to compromise security for our research, we just want them to allow us to visit the sites we have been studying for years. A small gap in our research can invalidate our years of hard work,” said a researcher from the School of Earth Sciences at University of Kashmir.

Researchers across universities The Wire spoke to requested anonymity to avoid potential consequences for speaking on the issue. They also requested using the broader term of “earth sciences” instead of identifying their specific departments within universities.

The professors and project guides whom The Wire contacted also avoided speaking about these restrictions.

Also read: People in the Mountains Need Disaster Justice, Not Sermons on Environmentalism

As The Wire previously reported, the restricted zones include the Kashmir Great Lakes area (also a popular trekking route), Tarsar-Marsar and the Pir Panjal Lakes region, including Tosamaidan Meadow (though it was recently re-opened for visitors), Kousarnag and parts of Gurez Valley.

The closed sites are spread across Kulgam, Ganderbal, Srinagar, Budgam, Kupwara, Anantnag and Baramulla districts. Many are popular routes, alpine meadows, waterfalls and high-altitude lakes that also attract adventure tourists while also serving as  crucial spots for researchers.

These sub-regions include many that are increasingly exposed to the risks of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), landslides and flash floods.

Alpine meadow in Kashmir, August 14, 2023. Credit: Rohit Sharma, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Shadow of Pahalgam over research work

The prohibitory orders cite “serious security concerns” and threats to public safety as reasons for the closure. A similar order was issued in July, when the government issued an updated list of 28 locations that visitors could travel to. In several cases, orders were issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) by district collectors and sub-divisional magistrates, pointing towards incidents where people had attempted to cross military and police checkpoints during late-night hours without proper permissions.

Section 163 gives executive magistrates the power to issue urgent orders to prevent nuisance or apprehended danger. However, researchers say the restrictions, and the process through which they are enforced, have made legitimate scientific fieldwork difficult to undertake.

“Since the Pahalgam attack, it has become routine. The civil and police administration make us move from pillar to post to get permission and then deny it after making us wait for weeks. Sometimes, they do not even respond to our letters,” a senior researcher at University of Kashmir told The Wire.

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