The September 2014 floods had wiped out seeds of lotus stems, locally known as nadru, from Dal Lake.
It affected livelihoods of thousands of people. It also deprived Kashmiri – vegetable. This year nadru is available in large quantities with the revival of the crop in Dal Lake after a gap of three years. The large-scale destruction of 2014 was caused by unprecedented rainfall
Nadru growers of Dal Lake say that they worked hard to revive the crop. They procured seeds from various other water bodies such as Mansbal and Anchar over the past three years to revive its cultivation afresh Dal lake.
It provides a livelihood to thousands of people, which include nadru growers, middlemen, vegetable sellers and fast-food vendors.
Nadru dishes are particularly common during festivals such as Eid, Muharram and Navroz.
The growers say that Dal variant of nadru is sold at a good price in the markets and the seeds are propagate in separate zones in lakes in the month of March and April. These aquatic plants that grows the lotus develop long tubers in the soft soil beneath that is extracted as nadru which is used in different Kashmir cuisines.
It’s also in a sense an identity of Kashmir and with its revival it can be hoped that peace too starts blooming there.
