Nadru: A staple of Kashmiri cooking, the long, crunchy edible stem of the lotus plant is always in high demand. But despite its demand, farmers say this winter has brought one of the toughest harvesting seasons in years.

Nadru (lotus stem) growers bend repeatedly to extract the stems from thick, muddy beds while standing waist-deep in freezing waters for hours each day. The work has grown even more difficult in the Sangam water bodies, which were formerly thought to be among the richest areas for lotus stem cultivation.

Farmers here say yields have dropped sharply. The primary reason, they point out, is the reduced flow of water from the Sind River, which enters the belt from Ganderbal. With water channels shrinking, the lotus beds are drying up

Yet even with the lower output, farmers say prices have not increased, deepening their financial distress.

Ishtiyaq Ahmad Khanday, a farmer, explains: “We do not get the desired rate, as you yourself saw, the weather is so cold here. This year the yield is very low compared to last year. This is because we are not getting enough water. Earlier, we used to get water from the Sind in Ganderbal, which has stopped now. We request the government to make a canal so that water reaches here, nadru grows and our livelihoods continue.”

Another farmer, Ashiq Ahmed Dar, echoes the concern: “The work is going on, but we are not getting good rates for this. We have to take them out in this cold weather, so accordingly we should get 200 to 250 rupees for what we call one 'ghid', but we don’t get that much. The yield has also gone down as water levels have dropped. The water that used to come from the Ganderbal side has stopped…”

Environmental experts caution that Ganderbal's diminishing water channels are concerning for the delicate wetland ecosystem in the area. If the trend continues, they say, it could threaten the very survival of nadru cultivation in the Valley.

And for farmers who depend on it, that would mean the loss of a major livelihood.