Every year, thousands of locals in Kashmir, especially those living in high-altitude and remote areas go elsewhere to warmer places, seeking protection from the harsh winter. Migration as a tradition has been set by the people of Kashmir for a long time, but like everything else, it has got both aspects of survival and vulnerability.
Temperatures often fall below zero, and freezing cold coupled with snowstorms makes life pretty much impossible for the locals. Their roads are blocked, supplies do not come in, and basic survival has become a very difficult task.
Many residents, particularly those in remote villages, find it hard trying to survive their livelihood under such extreme conditions. Thus, the need for milder climatic conditions during winter made migration from the frosty plains of Kashmir to warmer areas like Jammu, Delhi, and even southern parts of India.
Migration is much more than an individual comfort. For many people, it is actually a survival mechanism. While the elite and wealthier classes of Kashmir could afford to travel to mild climates when the need to find some relief arose, this requirement is becoming a reality for most middle-class and low-income families within the present economy. The mass temporary migration which often comes every December up to February deprives many areas in the rural populace. Agricultural sectors highly feel the effect of loss.
But it becomes a greater challenge in that most of the winter migrants cannot afford to return until spring, further disrupting the local economy. After being temporarily stopped for winter and the extreme season usually observed within their hangouts, crop and livestock agricultural operations become much less economic in the area.
At the level of distant comprehension, seasonal movement strikes at a most urgent need for rethinking urban and rural planning in Kashmir. Long-term solution measures involving improving housing and insulation, enhanced heating infrastructure, and access to renewable energy sources might mitigate extreme consequences of winter.
Strengthening up the roads and also making agricultural systems more climate-resilient would help greatly.
