Srinagar, July 15 -- By Ansar Hussain Dar

At first light, pilgrims begin climbing to the Baba Reshi shrine, passing beneath towering chinar trees and alongside clear mountain streams before stopping to pray at one of Kashmir's most revered shrines.

Then the rubbish comes into view.

Plastic bottles lie in the water, food wrappers blanket the pathways, and overflowing bins spill onto the shrine grounds, turning a sacred landscape into the center of a growing fight over waste.

That contrast now forms the basis of a big legal challenge.

The Centre for Environmental Law has submitted a detailed representation to the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board, calling for disciplinary action against the shrine's administrator and demanding an independen...