Srinagar, June 5 -- Srinagar - The sun was already hot by mid-morning when students at Salsabeel Educational Institute in Humhama stood up together, hands raised, and made a collective promise: to start composting their kitchen waste at home.

It wasn't the usual school assembly. This was World Environment Day. And the voice leading them belonged to Dr. Raja Muzaffar Bhat, a well-known activist in Jammu and Kashmir, who has been speaking about waste and pollution for years.

"We can't just talk about change," Dr. Bhat told the crowd. "We have to start with what's in our own dustbins."

He wasn't only speaking to students. Teachers, staff and even parents had gathered to listen. And what they heard was troubling.

In his talk, Dr. Bhat sai...