Srinagar, Sept. 24 -- In Srinagar, especially in the city's more affluent neighbourhoods, some families are becoming unusually careful about what enters their homes.

They are spending on cancer-related precautions, changing diets, watching their lifestyle and, in some cases, installing advanced water purifiers.

The thinking behind these choices is simple: Kashmir's orchards use large quantities of pesticides, and people worry that chemicals used on apple trees can eventually reach soil and water.

That anxiety has acquired a sharper edge this week.

The Jammu and Kashmir government told the Legislative Assembly that around 51,000 cancer cases are currently registered in the Union Territory. Gastrointestinal, lung and breast cancers acco...