Numan Bhat

The author is a journalist hailing from India’s Kashmir region. With his deep love for writing, he covers topics including landscape, conflict, culture and more.

SRINAGAR: “If we can protect Dal Lake as a tourist attraction, why can’t we protect Chinars? These trees are just as important to Kashmir’s identity,” questions Sahil Bashir, a local resident, responding to the recent initiative of geo-tagging Chinars. He sees the move as a step forward but worries it may not be enough to stop their decline.

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections in 2024 are significant, as they are being conducted after a decade. The last elections 2014 led to a coalition government between the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and the Jammu & Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP), with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as Chief Minister in 2015. Following his death in January 2016, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti took over as Chief Minister.