High altitude wetlands of Ladakh under severe threat

While the threat of global warming has alarmed the entire world community since past few years, back home in India it has been threatening the very existence of high altitude Himalayan wetlands in general and wetlands of Ladakh in particular. Ladakh has three main high altitude wetlands of Pangong Tso, Tso Morari and Tokhar which have been witnessing massive tourist activity thus threatening these wetlands.

“Major challenges to the high altitude wetlands of Ladakh include unplanned and unregulated tourism, tourist season coinciding with peak biological activity, infrastructure, tremendous grazing pressure, lack of awareness among the stakeholders, emerging threat of climate change and lack of coordination among various developmental agencies”, said Mr. Pankaj Chandan, India Coordinator, Himalayan High Altitude Wetlands Conservation programme while speaking at an extension lecture on the theme “Conservation and Management of Himalayan High Altitude Wetlands with a Focus on Black-necked Crane” organized by the Friends of Ladakh Society, University of Jammu , J&K in collaboration with The Vijay Suri Foundation at the Seminar Hall of DSRS, Social Sciences Block, University of Jammu here today.
Informing that the Himalayan high altitude wetlands of J&K not only support the unique biodiversity in the region but are also source of livelihood for the local communities, he said at the regional level these wetlands also act as source of major rivers originating from the regions and supports billions and Billions of people in the downstream regions. Forty per cent of the world’s population is dependent on water coming from Himalayas, he added.
Enumerating few challenges before the conservationists working in areas like Ladakh, he said high altitude areas are very tough and difficult to work, working season is very short, conservation outcome also depends on political situation. He said ownership of the conservation activities should be given to the local communities, conservation activities should be related to economic incentives and conservation should also help in improving the livelihood of poor and vulnerable communities
Mr. Chandan who has worked extensively on the Himalayan high altitude wetlands which are one of the most unique ecosystems in the world and he has been managing WWF-India's High Altitude Wetland Conservation project in the states of J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal, said high altitude wetlands were crucial for biodiversity and for sustainable economic growth not only locally but also at a river basin and regional levels. These, he said, regulate micro-climates immense livelihood, cultural and spiritual significance
Informing that the WWF Wetland projects started in Leh in year 2000 with a stakeholders meeting at Leh which followed by various activities planned at three wetlands of Ladakh Tsomoriri, Tsokar and Pangong Tso, Mr Chandan added that two more sites were added in 2004 which were Hanle Marshes and Chushul Marshes
This followed major WWF conservation actions and field presence at Leh, Tsomoriri and at Tsokar including Target Oriented Education and Awareness Activities, Publication of Resource material, Capacity Building Programmes for Stakeholders, Community Based Tourism Activities, Scientific Documentation of the High Altitude Wetlands and Institutional Mechanisms Evolved
What is most interesting initiative of WWF India for the conservation and management of Ladakh high altitude wetland is that it has started involving Indian troops at the wetland sites
“That is amazing but we have been doing it successfully now. We are involving troops in Avifaunal Surveys, keeping records at the specific locations, for regular garbage cleanliness campaigns, distributing posters and other resource material developed by WWF and other organizations,” he said.
“Training workshops for officers of armed forces are being organized. One training programme after every alternate year is being organized in Ladakh for Indian Army, ITBP, Indian Air Force Border Roads Organization and Jammu & Kashmir Police. The process of training the officers has been institutionalized. Many officers who were trained in these training programmes contributing in Conservation in other parts of India as well,” said Mr. Chandan.
Besides, there are regular training programmes for tour operators. One training programme is organized every year for the tour operators. Organizations like Bombay Natural History Society are also coming forward to help in these training programmes. Tour operators in Ladakh are regularly participating in various conservation activities. Annual cleanliness of the camping sites is organised every year by the tour operators. Besides Himalayan Car Rallies in wetland areas have been stopped with the help of local tour operators.
The presentation also gave an overview of Black-necked Crane which is a state bird of the state of Jammu & Kashmir and uses these high altitude wetlands as its breeding ground
Speaking at the occasion, Professor Anita Charak Billawaria, Secretary, Friends of Ladakh Society, University of Jammu, who is also heading Centre for History and Culture of Jammu and Ladakh regions, University of Jammu, said that the FoL has been working relentlessly for the past few years in the field of art and culture. She informed that "Friends of Ladakh" is a group of people who share common interests about Ladakh. Centre for History and Culture of Jammu and Ladakh Regions, University of Jammu is the nodal agency for this group while The Vijay Suri Foundation (TVSF) is a social organization working in the field of art, culture and languages. She informed that the Society would be organizing many activates in the near future including Ladakh food festival.
Professor Jasbir Singh, Department of Economics, University of Jammu who is the joint secretary, Friends of Ladakh, University of Jammu, while presenting a formal vote of thanks, said FoL was started with three objectives. One of these was creating awareness among people, students and communities regarding preservation of art and culture followed by participating and conservation. He said with this lecture which highly focused on adopting conservation strategies to protect our precious ecosystem of which we are an integral part of, Friends of Ladakh has achieved its third objective today.
Earlier, Dr Kavita Suri, member, Friends of Ladakh introduced the speaker to the audience.
The lecture was attended by a number of students, researcher and teaching community of the University including Dr Anupama Vohra, Prof V.D.Singh. Dr. Anju Thapa, Dr. Vishwa raksha, Dr. Niharika, Dr Hema Gandotra, Dr. Sharda Sharma, Prof Suman Jamwal, Dr Sham Narayan, Dr Munir Alam, S.K.Gupta, retd chief engineer, Lt. Col Biplav Nath, Mahesh Kaul, Lalit Gupta, Sandhya Dhar and many others.

Outdated public transport in hilly districts to be phased out

Tighten verification procedures for passenger vehicles: Dy CM
Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Tara Chand expressing shock and grief over the loss of previous lives in the tragic mishap near Badarkoot in Kishtwar on May 4, today said that ex-gratia cannot be a substitute for those who have lost their dear ones in the accident.
Sharing concern of the government over the increase in the frequency of the road accidents in the hilly erstwhile Doda district in a condolence meeting held here, the Deputy Chief Minister assured the bereaved family members of accident victims and citizens that no stone will be left unturned to improve the transport system and ensure safety of commuters on all the routes of the hilly district. 
MLA Kishtwar, Mr. Sajad Ahmad Kichloo, MLA Inderwal, Mr. G. M. Saroori and MLC Mr. Ajay Sadhotra were also among those present in the meeting.
A two-minute silence was also observed for the accident victims.
Reviewing the existing transport and traffic management system in the three districts of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban, Mr. Tara Chand called for speeding of the process of commissioning new SRTC buses besides, making arrangements for plying additional mini buses along different routes in the districts. He also directed the concerned authorities for tightening the verification procedure of all passenger vehicles like issuance of fitness and road worthiness certificate, licenses and other documents. He said that all the old and outdated vehicles will be phased out from the roads to minimize the chances of accidents in future in the area. 
Earlier, the District Development Commissioner, Kishtwar Mr. G. R Bhagat briefed the Deputy Chief Minister of the relief and rescue operation carried out by the district administration immediately after the mishap at Bandarkoot. He said that ex-gratia of Rs. 10,000 has been paid to next of kins of 25 families of accident victims while as 6 ex-gratia cases will soon be disposed off after completion of legal formalities.
The MLAs of Kishtwar and Inderwal Assembly constituencies highlighted the problems faced by the people like dilapidated condition of roads in Batote, Kishtwar, Chatroo, Palmar, Paddar, Thakraie, Saroor-Bhadat and Bhelessa-Bonjwah routes and sought government’s action in improving the transport and traffic arrangements in the district.
The Deputy Chief Minister also interacted with the public who apprised him of their demands like controlling overloading menace, repair and renovation of roads, handing over the maintenance of Kishtwar-Palmar road to NHPC etc.

Jammu cries for water; PHE officials hold PDD responsible

“What happened to Rs. 435 cr project for lifting water from Chenab at Akhnoor to meet the growing water demand of the city of temples”?

With the summer on track, Jammu city and its suburbs with a population of about 15 lakh have started facing scarcity of drinking water. The situation is expected to worsen in the coming days as many of the water sources have already dried up. 
Tanker-owners are making bucks fast as residents of most of the new colonies in the outskirts of the main city are dependent on them for their drinking water requirements. Many colonies are being supplied drinking water twice a week by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, while some get tap water on alternate days.
With the Mercury already crossing the 40°C mark, various areas of Jammu are reeling under severe water scarcity. Though the PHE Department has pressed in to service few water tankers yet majority of these areas are facing acute water shortage while the residents of various localities describe them as insufficient measures taken by the department.
According to official statistics, the Jammu city alone requires 37 millions gallons of water everyday whereas it gets only 30 millions gallons.
In Jammu, people could be seen in long queues near a water tanker for their turn to fetch water and many a times there have been scuffle between the people for getting their utensils filled before the tanks run out of water.
The taps trickle even in the posh localities of Gandhi Nagar and Trikuta Nagar. Drinking water shortage and unscheduled power cuts are done here only during ‘fair weather’.
Private tanker-owners can be seen doing advance booking for supplying drinking water in the localities of Sainik Colony, Channi, Narwal and Bhatindi on the outskirts of the town. A housewife in Sainik Colony cried that water was being supplied in her locality on every third day and there was no fixed time for the supply.
A tanker full of water is being sold for anything around Rs 450 in the town and Rs 500 outside. It is learnt that the tankers of the PHE Department undertake as many as 102 trips a day, while the private operators make a slightly more number of trips to supply water to the consumers.
It has not been understood as to what is the fault of citizens living in outer skirts of Jammu when they pay the same Water Tax as paid by the citizens living in urban area who are provided water for at least thirty hours in a month.
The position is equally bad in the old city where water is supplied from the Tawi which flows right in the middle of the town. Water is supplied only once for about 30 minutes a day in most of the areas.
The people of the district allege that as the annual Darbar has been moved to Kashmir, the State Government is not concerned about the plight of the people here for the next six months.
Even though the State Government had recently announced that it was seriously contemplating to formulate a new water policy for maintaining and streamlining the available natural water resources of the state, nothing much has been done to implement the policy till now.
They allege that the laxity of the department could be well gauged from the fact that it has failed to repair the worn-out pipes.
“The arrival of summer has been a curse for the people, especially housewives, as majority of them has to sweat out to fetch a pitcher of water. The shortage in our area has forced many of us to fetch water from other localities,” Sunita of Shastri Nagar said.
“Though the city is reeling under acute water shortage, the government has failed to replace the damaged pipes which contribute to more than 40 per cent loss of water in the area,” said an official of the PHE Department.
“Many times our water supply is diverted to the residents of the posh areas and we are being ignored,” Anuj Koul, a resident of Nai Bast locality, said.
“Wastage of water and leaking water pipes could also lead to contamination and cause serious water-borne diseases,” Krishan Sharma of Sarwal said.
It is not only the local population which is being catered to by the PHE Department, a large number of migrants from the border areas, the Kashmiri Pandit (KP) migrants from the Kashmir Valley and the heavy floating population of the pilgrims of the Vaishno Devi Shrine also depend on the existing water supply system, which is virtually worn out.
However, VK Abrol Chief Engineer, PHE, claimed that there was a shortfall of only seven million gallons of water in the town every day. Against the total demand of 37 million gallons, about 30 million gallons of water are being made available to the consumers. He also claimed that the only reason for the irregular supply of water is the power curtailment by the PDD Department. He assured that they have all the resources and will increase the supply of water up to 33 million gallons only if there will be regular supply of power to us.
One would also like to put a poser as to what has happened to the Rs. 435 crore scheme for lifting water from Chenab at Akhnoor to meet the growing demand of the city of temple. For all one knows this scheme was mooted during gubernatorial spell, mentioned off and on by the popular Government but nothing has moved. It shows apathetic attitude.
Had it been started in right earnest by now the scheme would have been nearing completion or already pumping water to the city? It is indeed a case of wrong priorities or better call it, pusillanimous approach.
Non-completion of Burn Power Receiving Station is another example of ignoring vital needs of the people. Even now usual alibi of funds shortage is mentioned for non-completion. This happens when 90% of the works are over and funds starvation comes when only 10% is left to be completed. Let it be clearly understood that such schemes must have priority over frivolous pursuits.
The concerned minister should see to it that new wells are commissioned immediately, other deepened and all possible steps taken forthwith to augment the potable water supply. (By Munish Gupta)