Historic shehlinag spring in Dooru goes dry after borewell drilling nearby

July 7, 2025 by News Desk

Suhail Dar

In a shocking turn of events, the historic Shehlinag spring, located in Dooru area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, has run completely dry, just a week after the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department began drilling a borewell a few metres away for the spring.

The spring, once a perennial source of clean water and home to aquatic life, is now reduced to cracked earth and the carcasses of dead fish.

Locals say this is the first time in memory that Shehlinag, which fed dozens of families across Dooru and adjoining hamlets, has ceased to flow.

“This is the death of not just a water source, but of a heritage,” said Bashrat Ali, a local resident. “Shehlinag is where Veribag and several other small springs originate. And now, it’s dry.”

As per the locals, the PHE department started drilling the borewell last week, ignoring objections raised by the local residents.

“The borewell began pumping water on Saturday. Within hours, the spring’s flow started declining. By Sunday morning, it was gone,” said Basharat Ali. “Fish are dead. Families are desperate. This is criminal.”

Despite initial reassurances from the officials that “borewell activity would not impact Shehlinag,” local observations suggest otherwise.

Hydrogeologists and environmental researchers have long warned about the dangers of unregulated borewell construction, especially in regions with interconnected groundwater systems.

Springs like Shehlinag are fed by underground aquifers, natural water reservoirs formed by rain and snowmelt seeping into the earth. When a borewell is drilled deep into the ground, it can create a pressure vacuum, diverting water flow from nearby aquifers toward the borewell’s shaft.

This causes the water table to fall, sometimes drastically. Springs, which depend on constant hydrostatic pressure, begin to dry out as the water is redirected to the artificial borewell system.

This is especially dangerous in mountainous or hilly regions like Dooru, where springs are often the only source of clean water for entire communities.

In similar incidents across India and South Asia, borewells have been linked to the death of natural springs, drying up of wetlands, and irreversible ecological imbalance.

Dead fish now float on the mud of Shehlinag’s dry bed, a grim reminder of what was once a thriving ecosystem.

The spring also watered small fields, home gardens, and served dozens of households who now face an uncertain future.

“People are dying of thirst and helplessness,” said a young resident. “We demand that the borewell work be stopped and the earth be filled back. This should never have happened.”

The locals have appealed to the Omar Abdullah led government and Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anantnag to initiate a probe and fix responsibility. “Why is the historical spring being killed like this with no accountability?” one elderly resident asked, visibly emotional.

So far, the concerned department has not issued a formal statement.