By Mir Ishfaq
Kulgam: A unique traditional fishing festival at a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district is attracting attention towards the locals' community service and environmental awakening.
Dozens of men—young and old—of Panzath village and adjoining area in the south Kashmir district plunged into a local spring popularly known as 'Panzath Nag' on Sunday, May 18 for the annual fishing and cleaning initiative in the spring.
Locals, barring women, get into the Panzath spring waters with wicker baskets and bags on this day to clean the water body of weeds and other pollutants during the fishing event.
According to local belief, the spring is the confluence of 500 smaller springs and is the source of irrigation for thousands of acres of land spread over dozens of villages. The annual dredging initiative is held to ensure the smooth flow of water throughout the year.
Mohammad Sultan, a local elderly from Panzath said that the annual festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm and is being organised for ages.
“Men of all ages come together to clean the spring. Now more people have come forward to attending the festival and taking an interest in it. We should save and preserve our water bodies,” Sultan said.
Shabir Ahmad, a village youth, said that the fishing and cleaning event aims to promote environmental cleanliness.
“People using unconventional methods have garnered a lot of attention. The goal is to keep the stream free of weeds, desilt it to ensure a smooth flow of water. We want this initiative to gain attention and attract tourists to this place. We appeal to the government to promote this place as it has great potential for tourism”.
PM Modi Acknowledges
Significantly, the annual fishing and cleanliness festival was acknowledged by PM Modi during his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ program in 2023. “Panzath village community dedicates a day every year to clean the water bodies in the village,” PM had said in the program.
Read More:
