A 20-km-long stretch of the Brengi water stream has suddenly disappeared in Kashmir after it was swallowed by a massive sinkhole, leaving locals concerned
The Brengi stream has been swallowed by the massive sinkhole, causing the deaths of many fish, including trout. Image Courtesy: Twitter
A famous Kashmir trout stream has vanished into a sinkhole spreading fear in the south Kashmir Kokernag area.
As per reported information, the 20-km-long stretch of Brengi water stream has been draining into a sinkhole since early this week; the phenomenon has left the downstream portion dry, killing fish in large numbers.
We take a look at what happened, its effect on the environment, what is a sinkhole and other such incidents across the world.
What’s a sinkhole?
The United States Geological Survey {USGS} describes a sinkhole, also called a sink or doline, as a depression in the ground that has no natural external surface drainage.
Basically, this means that when it rains, all of the water stays inside the sinkhole and typically drains into the subsurface.
An aerial view of a sinkhole that was found by farmers in a field of crops in Santa Maria Zacatepec, state of Puebla, Mexico in May 2021. AFP
Sinkholes typically occur in a landscape where limestone sits underneath the soil, water from rainfall collects in cracks in the stone. Slowly, as the limestone dissolves and is carried away, the cracks widen until the ground above them becomes unstable and collapses. The collapse often happens very suddenly and without very much warning. Water collects in these collapsed sections, forming sinkholes.
Sinkholes also form when the roofs of caves collapse. Sinkholes are often funnel-shaped, with the wide end open at the surface and the narrow end at the bottom of the pool.
Sinkholes vary greatly in area and depth — some being shallow holes about 1 metre (3 feet) deep, to pits more than 50 metres (165 feet) deep.
What happened in Kashmir?
According to reports from the region, a huge sinkhole developed in the stream which has been draining all the run of the stream water into it. District authorities said around 50 cusecs of water was draining into the sinkhole at the moment.
The incident also prompted the administration to enforce restrictions under Section 144 and asked people not to venture near the sinkhole as nobody knows the outlet of the sinkhole and people are worried that it may cause a collapse of land.