Srinagar, June 4 -- By Mir Nabeena & S. Iliyas Rizvi

Kashmir is losing thousands of hectares of fertile farmland as paddy fields yield to concrete.

Far more than a shift in land use, this transformation is reshaping the valley's food security, ecological balance and centuries-old agrarian heritage.

The slow disappearance of paddy lands ranks among the most significant environmental and social changes unfolding in Kashmir today.

Rice has occupied a central place in valley's history for centuries. It feeds households, sustains farming communities and anchors cultural traditions that have passed through generations.

Vast paddy fields once spread through Kashmir like green carpets, creating a landscape that blended agricultural productiv...