Celebrating the Magnificent Chinar Tree

In homage to the cultural heritage of these majestic centuries-old trees, today is chinar day in Jammu and Kashmir.  

In 2019, the Indian Government said it wanted the country to go digital, in every sense of the word. The Unique Payment Index (UPI) was set up to create easy, instantaneous micro transfers from all walks of society. The concept of ‘India as a Service’ in every sector really took off.

Dr. Sayed Tariq, Coordinator of the the Jammu and Kashmir (JK) Forest Research Institute (FRI), took this challenge equally seriously. He launched the digitalisation of the chinar tree ‘aadhaar’ (identification cards) whereby as many chinar trees would be measured, labelled, and tracked in JK.

Most of the chinar trees are in Kashmir. There are approximately 6,000 chinars in the capital city district of Srinagar alone. And roughly 35,000 chinars are left overall in JK, from an estimated 45,000-50,000 in previous centuries.

You will find chinar trees occupying entire sidewalks in the streets of Srinagar and often their trunks are cut at or burned or cement is poured around the bases which inhibits their growth and longevity. Action is now being taken to preserve these old relics.

The Mughal emperors, Akbar and Jehangir, are equally credited with having planted 11,000 or 12,000 chinar trees in the area of present-day Kashmir University campus, west of the Nigeen Lake that is part of the famous Dal Lake.The largest chinar tree in Asia is located in Ganderbal, north of Srinagar, with a 22.5-meter girth and almost 30-meters tall. The chinar tree is indeed the legacy of the Mughals.

Srinagar is famous for its beautiful Char (Four) Chinar Island on Dal Lake, but another island will gain fame too soon for being the first occurrence of transplanting chinar trees from land via water to an island further down Dal Lake. And whenever there is a chinar tree, there is bound to be a shaheen (Urdu) or gant (Kashmiri) – the fabulous eagle kites that soar the skies of Kashmir.

Geotagging ends pruning

First a form is filled out to register all the characteristics of the respective tree, then the data is plugged into the database, then a QR code is generated, a plaque is made, and the team is deployed back to the tree in question to put up the plaque and start tracking. Around 29,000 trees have been geotagged in this way already.

The geotagging helps prevent and possibly eradicate illegal pruning entirely. Whereas before, people would prune branches at will depending on the location of their stores or, vehicles or homes, the status of a given tree is now registered in full transparency so specific permits need to be acquired to alter these trees in any way.

Only if scientifically proved by the Forest Research Institute (FRI) experts can a tree be pruned legally now. Watch out for fines! This is in line with the 1969 Jammu and Kashmir Preservation of Specified Trees Act that was meant to protect specific trees, including those of paramount cultural heritage importance such as the magnificent chinar tree.

In terms of carbon storage, the remaining chinar trees hold approximately 700,000 to 1 million tonnes of carbon, helping to reduce greenhouse gases. Their tremendous leaf load during summer is equal to 150-200 kg in fresh weight of leaves alone, which opens the possibility for a follow-up project to convert the leaves into vermicomposting for nutrient-rich natural fertilisers.

Today, to celebrate the great chinar, tree-planting takes place as a public awareness activity in all ten districts of the Kashmir Valley. Next autumn on 15 October, with the turning red of the leaves, a fall festival will take place in schools and public activation areas to save the blazing chinar.