Srinagar: In Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the proposed solid waste and sewage treatment project at Gupt Ganga-Foreshore Road, Nishat, has sparked strong opposition from local residents, with Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam describing it as an 'ecological blunder' that poses serious threats to Dal Lake's ecosystem and public health.

Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam, in a media interview in Srinagar, said that converting the Gupt Ganga wetland-an important ecological buffer protecting Dal Lake-into a waste and sewage processing site would have grave and irreversible environmental, health, and social consequences.

'The project is ecologically disastrous and socially unacceptable,' he warned, adding that the destruction of this natural wetland for a large-scale waste facility undermines decades of conservation work and violates the very principles of environmental protection that the administration claims to uphold.

Environmental activists and civil society groups have echoed similar concerns, urging authorities to relocate the project and adopt sustainable waste management solutions that safeguard Kashmir's fragile ecology and cultural heritage.