NEW DELHI, 25 Feb: Fresh from his tour to the US, where he carried a piece of ice from a glacier in Ladakh to flag their fast melting, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that India should take a lead in addressing the issue.
Drawing attention to the gravity of the situation in the Himalayas, Wangchuk told a press conference in the capital that if steps are not taken to restore these glaciers, “which
are the source of our perennial rivers,” the next Maha Kumbh after 144 years may be held on sand as the rivers may dry up.
Wangchuk, who has been working on preserving Himalayan glaciers, travelled from Ladakh to Delhi, and then to the US with a piece of ice from a glacier in Khardung La. The ice was placed in a container wrapped in Ladakh’s iconic Pashmina wool for insulation.
The ice was taken to the UN office in Delhi, before he flew to the US where it travelled along with the climate activist to the Harvard Kennedy School, MIT, in Boston and to the UN headquarters in New York, before being immersed at the confluence of the Hudson river and the East river in New York on 21 February, a month ahead of the World Day for Glaciers, which will be observed on 21 March.
The United Nations (UN) has declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.
Wangchuk, who sent out a message of reducing demands instead of finding new means of supply to manage climate change, delivered his talks with the glacial ice melting next to him, symbolising how glaciers are receding as talks go on.
The climate activist suggested setting up of a commission to assess the state of the Himalayas glaciers, declaring major glaciers like Gangotri and Yamunotri as national treasures, and framing special policies that protect the Himalayas glaciers. (PTI)
