IN PHOTOS | Kashmir's dwindling willow plantations worry cricket batmakers

Kashmir’s dwindling willow plantations are impacting the region’s famed cricket bat industry and risking the supply of cricket bats in India, where the sport is hugely followed. The industry employs more than 10,000 people and manufactures nearly a million bats a year. Most are sold to Indian tourists, while the rest are exported to Indian cities and other countries.

Kashmir’s dwindling willow plantations are impacting the region’s famed cricket bat industry and risking the supply of cricket bats in India, where the sport is hugely followed. The industry employs more than 10,000 people and manufactures nearly a million bats a year. Most are sold to Indian tourists, while the rest are exported to Indian cities and other countries. (Photo | AP) 

Javid Ahmed, owner of a cricket bat factory displays his finished bats in Awantipora, in Srinagar. “There will be no bats produced in Kashmir in the coming years if the shortage continues,” said Fawzul Kabeer, who owns a company that exports cricket bats. (Photo | AP)

Tens and thousands of towering willow trees were introduced to the picturesque Himalayan region by the British in the early 19th century to maintain the supply of firewood during Kashmir’s harsh winters. (Photo | AP)

Over the years, farmers in the region have been planting poplars in place of willows. The faster-growing poplar tree is preferred by the booming plywood industry. (Photo | AP)

A Kashmiri shepherd walks with his cattle through a field where willow trees were chopped down over a government wetland at Haretaar north of Srinagar. The trees are being cut in large numbers and no one is planting them again. (Photo | AP)

Unfinished cricket bats are covered in sawdust at a factory in Awantipora, south of Srinagar. The demand for Kashmir willow bats increased after it was introduced during the ICC World T20 competition in Dubai last year. (Photo | AP)

Willow cleft used to make cricket bats are stacked up for seasoning at a factory in Awantipora, south of Srinagar. The problem will hit regional players and cricket enthusiasts who use the more affordable Kashmir-made bats. (Photo | AP)

A Kashmiri man carries a willow log after cutting down willow trees over a government wetland at Haretaar north of Srinagar. (Photo | AP)

A Kashmiri man measures a log kept aside for making cricket bats after cutting down willow trees over a government wetland at Haretaar north of Srinagar. (Photo | AP)

Mudasir Ahmed, a Kashmiri worker carries willow clefts used to make cricket bats as he walks past pile clefts stacked up for seasoning at a factory in Awantipora, south of Srinagar. (Photo | AP)

Ali Raza, a worker from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh levels the surface of a cricket bat at a factory in Srinagar. (Photo | AP)

Manzoor Ahmed Wani, a Kashmiri worker prepares a cricket bat at a factory in Awantipora, south of Srinagar. (Photo | AP)

A field full of felled willow trees is seen over a government wetland at Haretaar, north of Srinagar. (Photo | AP)

Kashmiri workers prepare cricket bats inside a factory in Awantipora, south of Srinagar. (Photo | AP)