PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the Himalaya is not just a mountain range but it is also the source of life for the entire Indian subcontinent. The Himalaya not only act as an unshakable sentinel in the north of India, but its mountain rivers are the lifeline of the entire country, he said. The CM was addressing the Himalaya Day programme at the IRDT auditorium here on Tuesday. Dhami said that climate change, uncontrolled development and indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources are disturbing the balance of the Himalaya. Its glaciers are melting, which can become a big challenge of serious water crisis and ecological imbalance in the coming times. He said that the intensity of rainfall in the Himalayan region is constantly increasing and disasters like unexpected cloudbursts and resulting landslides are occurring frequently. The CM stressed on the importance of establishing coordination between scientific institutions and experts to effectively deal with these serious challenges. He said that protection of the Himalaya is not only the work of the government, but it is the responsibility of every citizen of the country. Dhami averred that the government is working towards the long-term conservation of the Himalaya through digital monitoring system, glacier research centre, water source conservation campaign and public participation programmes. He said that a digital deposit refund system has been started for the management of plastic waste in the State and it has succeeded in reducing 72 tonnes of carbon emissions in the Himalayan region. The CM said that the State government will promote sustainable tourism so that tourism can be developed without harming the environment. Padma Bhushan recipient environmentalist Anil Prakash Joshi said that this year disasters have occurred in the entire Himalayan region and a fresh thinking is needed to save the environment of the Himalaya. MLA Kishore Upadhyay, Dehradun mayor Saurabh Thapliyal, UCOST director general Durgesh Pant and others attended the programme.
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