Srinagar, Aug. 3 -- Unchecked construction across Kashmir's tourist destinations is not development; it is destruction disguised as progress. Valley, celebrated for its fragile beauty and ecological richness, is being reshaped by a relentless boom in hotels, guesthouses, and homestays. What was once a landscape defined by forests, rivers, and meadows is now increasingly dominated by concrete, threatening to erase the very identity that draws visitors in the first place.

The scale of illegal construction is staggering, with thousands of structures raised without approval in recent years. This unregulated expansion has already outpaced civic infrastructure. Waste management systems are overwhelmed, water resources strained, and roads choke...