Doodpather: Kashmir

Rafique A. Khan
1835 Apex Ave. Los Angeles
California 90026. USA

DOODPATHER , ANOTHER PAHALGAM LIKE SLUM IN THE MAKING

Doodpather, a series of Alpine meadows in Kashmir near Badgam, are of breathtaking pristine undisturbed natural beauty. Doodpather is being “discovered”. Kashmir government is making it into a tourist resort. The government works projects are underway. Seeing these projects – a rest house, parking lot, and approach roads brought back memories of my childhood visits to Pahalgam in the early 50’s. Pahalgam then was a pristine place; fifty years later, now, it has become a dirt slum like town. The public works underway in Doodpather are seeds of blight that, unless checked, will make Doodpather into another slum like Pahalgam.

Doodpather is series of meadows, I saw three. In the first meadow a government rest house is under construction. The tourist rest house is like a two story “city-house” made of brick. This structure in its building design, the building material used in construction and at its location appears as an unacceptable intrusion in the natural environment. Next to the rest house are ugly water works structures and another government building. These structures dominate the valley and mar the pristine setting of the meadow.

The approach road bisects all three meadows. This road placement may be prudent as an engineering project; it spells disaster for the natural serenity of the place. And then there are the temporary shanty town roadside bazaars in the making in the second and third meadows. A huge parking pad with its massive earthwork is an ugly scare in the second meadow.

The enthused tourism officials understandably are showcasing their projects by placing them at the most prominent locations in the meadows, and, the public works officials are in turn using the most direct and cost effective means for doing the public works. But in a place like Doodpather man made elements - buildings and infrastructure projects- should be subservient to the natural elements of the environment.

The existing road with its shanty bazaars are embroyo of a future slum. Thus Doodpather is headed the way of Pahalgam. To avoid this disaster my submission is that public infrastructure and private development in Doodpather should be done based on a thoughtful redevelopment plan that integrates development with conserving the natural environment where construction works enhance the natural settings.

The natural setting of Doodpather could be enhanced and Doodpather could be made into a destination by a thought full over all redevelopment plan, perhaps along the following lines:

For the third meadow, where the present road ends consider to:
1. Realign the road. Remove the existing road in the middle of the meadow and instead provide a road around the meadow below the forest line skirting the existing Gujjar huts and the Ziyarat. That would leave the central meadow in its natural state.
2. Designate land use zones for the meadow. (a) Below the forest line, designate a meadow preservation zone in the center, where no above ground construction would be permitted. (b) Designate a residential zone for the existing Gujjar settlements with adequate room for their expansion. This zone should have building design regulation to ensure that all construction is compatible with the natural setting. Under the design guidelines modern construction would be permitted; use of building material and building form (shape) would be regulated. (c) Create an institutional use zone for the Ziyarat and adjacent area. The Ziyarat structure should be improved and expanded with appropriate design compatible with the surrounding. (d) Designate a commercial zone at the far end of the meadow. This place may be suitable for a ski run. If the ski run is feasible then suitable development could be planned as part of the ski run.
For the second meadow, this has a small stream.
1. Here also as in the third meadow the existing road should be removed and realigned to skirt the forest line and the meadow.
2. Possibility of creating a water body, a lake or series of water ponds with falls, should be investigated, including building a micro hydral project(s).
3. This meadow could be place to create an iconic structure on the road linking the third and first meadow. This could be a timer frame visitor center building as part and over a timber bridge structure, reminiscent of historic bridges of Kashmir.
4. Along the edge of the water body a hotel with conference facilities and other amenities for a tourist resort of appropriate scale and design could be considered.
5. In this meadow also need is to designate appropriate land use zones and urban design guidelines and regulations.
For the first meadow:
1. First the need is to arrest and reverse the blight created by existing public works. This could be done by relocating and or redesigning the existing and under construction structures. Another alternative may be to surround the structures with mature trees. In other words extend the forest tree line to screen the structures from view.
2. As in the other two meadows, the access route and land use zones and design guidelines need to be put in place. The land uses which may include institutional uses and or private residential could be determined by a market feasibility study.

The overall development of Doodpather needs to have a strategic plan for providing amenities for attracting appropriate tourists. This may include developing scenic tracking routes connecting Doodpather area with other areas of interest for nature lovers. Other alternative could be developing facilities for hosting training and retreats of business travelers and or housing and related recreational facilities for family vacations.

Doodpather is a gift of Mother Nature. It needs to be preserved and enhanced for future generations.
Rafique A. Khan, a Kashmiri-American practicing city planner is based in los Angeles. For feedback:Rafiquekhan@kashmirrelief.org; Rafiquekhan2008@gmail.com