Nestled along the banks of the Wular Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in South Asia, the picturesque Zurimanz village of Kashmir has become an idyllic destination for both domestic as well as foreign tourists.
The small village which is famously called Bangladesh in Jammu and Kashmir is located in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, 90 km from Srinagar.
According to locals Bangladesh in Kashmir came into existence after the 1971 India-Pakistan war in East Pakistan.
“At a time when the war between two nuclear countries was going on in East Pakistan a massive fire broke out in the Zurimanz village, turning the whole village into ashes. During that time East Pakistan became Bangladesh and people in Zurimanz village also started rebuilding their houses in the village. Due to the coincidence of events East Pakistan became Bangladesh and Zurimanz also became Kashmir’s Bangladesh,” Firdous Ahmad, a local boatman tells Moneycontrol.
35-year-old Ahmad added that the massive blaze also separated the village into two colonies — Bangladesh and Zurimanz where around 350 residential houses are located.
The village is also the birthplace of J&K’s senior separatist leader and chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
With its breathtaking natural beauty and scenic surroundings, the charming village has started to gain popularity among tourists. “During the past one year both domestic as well as foreign tourists have been coming here and enjoying a wide range of activities, including boating, fishing, and birdwatching. Thanks to social media we even saw tourists from Bangladesh coming here and getting mesmerised,” Ahmed recalls.
The villagers say that besides the tourists from Bangladesh a number of visitors also come from Poland, Russia, New Zealand and other countries.
The newly constructed boardwalk, providing an amazing view of mount Harmukh overlooking the Wular lake was constructed by Wular Conservation and Management Authority (WCMA) in the village. The boardwalk also known as “selfie point” has also emerged as a captivating tourist magnet, especially for the selfie lovers and photographers.
Besides the increase of tourist footfall in the village, this year a South Indian film crew shot some scenes of a movie directed by Aditya Suhas in the village. The movie was shot in the area for the first time after the launch of 2021 J&K Film Policy.
The locals who make their living from the lake say that the rise of tourist footfall in the village has also created a wide range of employment opportunities for the people.
“Most of the people in the village have been earning their livelihood from fishing and collecting famed water chestnuts, also called Water caltrop that Wular lake produces. Despite being a painstaking job everyone in the village including both men and women harvest water chestnuts and later sell them to traders, ” says Ghulam Hassan, another local fisherman.
Nearly 90 per cent of the water chestnuts produced in Kashmir are sourced from Wular Lake and are considered one of the finest diets for diabetics in the Valley.
However, Hassan claims that the rise of tourist arrivals in the Bangladesh village has ignited hope of better days for the villagers.
“Early morning men and women here collect water chestnuts, locally known as “singhara” on their boats from the waters of Wular Lake. The collection of chestnuts is a tedious process and doesn’t fetch good income to people and therefore people are now eying on good tourism.”
In a bid to attract tourists towards the village both Ahmad and Hassan have built the first shikara, a traditional Kashmiri boat, for the lake to offer a chance to visitors to enjoy a boat ride on the Wular.
Hassan, who is also the president of the local fishermen association, tells Moneycontrol that with tourists flocking to Bangladesh village, people have started registration for homestays with the government.
“Right now tourists can not stay here due to unavailability of hotels, guesthouses and restaurants. Therefore we are in a process with the government to provide accommodation to tourists in the form of home-stays here.”
To reach Bangladesh, visitors can first fly to Srinagar and from there they can head to the Bandipora district and hire a cab in Bandipora to reach the village.
Amid a hope for thriving tourism in the village the villagers in Bangladesh are also worried about the future of the lake which is dying a slow death. “The entire village is dependent on the lake because it provides them sustenance and has also attracted the tourists across the world. But for the past few months the water level in the lake is decreasing which is not just alarming but can also affect our livelihood,” says Hassan while taking a deep sigh.
He laments that people are losing their livelihoods while the lake management authorities are not doing enough to conserve the lake.
The Comprehensive Management Action Plan on Wular Lake, prepared by Wetlands International indicates that between 1911 to 2007 the area of the lake was reduced from 157.74 sq. km to 86.71 sq. km. Similarly, the decrease in water levels and degradation of its quality has led to decline in fish and waterbird diversity.
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