Sopore: Amid Kashmir’s harshest 40-day winter period, Chillai Kalan, children in Tarzoo Harirar village here in north Kashmir have discovered a novel way to beat the chill: converting frozen ponds into impromptu cricket grounds.
The frozen playground has offered these young enthusiasts joy even if the freezing weather has put life on pause for most of the Kashmiris.
With schools shut for winter vacations, the children are making the most of their free time. Sitting on the thick ice, an enthusiastic youngster said, “We don’t have proper playgrounds here. The frozen ponds feel like a winter paradise, and we are enjoying every moment of it.”
However, adults are alarmed by the idea of kids playing on frozen water bodies. Residents worry that mishaps could result from ice fissures. “We keep warning them, but they don’t listen,” said a resident.
Javaid Ahmed Bhat, a social activist, expressed similar worries and called on parents and the government to take action. “Social media is flooded with videos of kids playing cricket on frozen ponds, which is concerning. Since these places are far away, who will be held accountable if something goes wrong?” He told ETV Bharat.
The J&K Disaster Management Authority (JKDMA) has also issued warnings against venturing onto frozen water bodies, describing such activities as life-threatening. “Walking or playing on frozen lakes is extremely dangerous,” said JKDMA CEO Atal Dulloo. He underlined that there are serious worries because the present cold wave has caused some of Kashmir's well-known waterbodies, such as Dal Lake and Wular Lake, to partially freeze.
Kashmir has a history of renowned ice vistas during the harsh winters. The Dal Lake, a symbol of frosty grandeur, recently froze completely in January 2021, with similar occurrences in 1986. Remarkably, in 1991, both residents and tourists walked across its frozen surface.
However, it is believed that Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the former prime minister of Jammu & Kashmir, has famously driven a jeep across its icy surface in the intervening winter of 1962-1963 when the lake remained frozen for nearly a month.
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