SRINAGAR: The felling of 234 trees on the 111-year-old campus of Amar Singh College in Srinagar, which secured the Award of Merit in the 2020 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation for its restoration after the 2014 floods, has triggered a furore among locals in Kashmir.
This act, which has elicited widespread condemnation among residents in Srinagar, has stirred emotions and ignited a fervent debate over the preservation of cultural heritage and environmental conservation.
The historic college, recognised for its architectural splendor and cultural significance, had garnered accolades in 2020, securing the prestigious Award of Merit in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
The restoration efforts undertaken after the devastating floods of 2014 had breathed new life into the campus, making it a symbol of resilience and heritage preservation.
The trees, planted decades ago to create an enchanting avenue of poplars in front of the college’s main façade, had grown to towering heights, imparting a distinctive charm to the Indo-British style architecture of the institution. The decision to fell these trees has sparked outrage, with critics lamenting the loss of the iconic feature that lent character to the college’s landscape.
“First, they constructed a high masonry wall when the [original] plain chain link fence was transparent and looked good,” Hakim Sameer Hamdani, design director of INTACH Kashmir, wrote on Twitter. “Now this disaster. Wish someone would get fired for this act of vandalism. How could they do away with the poplar avenue?”
The poplar avenue was not only a scenic attraction but also served as a backdrop for local artists and filmmakers. Bollywood productions such as Laila Majnu and Lal Singh Chaddha had also captured its allure on screen, further cementing its cultural significance.
College principal, Sheikh Ajaz Bashir, however defended the decision, citing safety concerns posed by aging trees. The assertion that only 59 out of the 182 poplars were declared “dry” by the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Development Corporation Limited has only added fuel to the controversy, with many questioning the rationale behind the extensive felling.
College spokesman said the necessity for tree removal stems from the aftermath of the 2014 floods in Kashmir, during which the college remained submerged for an extended period. “The resultant damage to infrastructure and weakening of trees posed safety hazards, with numerous instances of uprooting observed during minor windstorms. Recognizing the imminent danger to students, staff, and visitors, the college administration received and documented numerous safety and health-related grievances, necessitating urgent action,” he added.
Notably, the college has initiated a plantation drive to compensate for the loss, demonstrating its commitment to environmental sustainability, said the spokesman.
