Launching a scathing attack on minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh, Dr R.K. Pachauri, director-general of Teri, minced no words at the non-serious manner in which the government was tackling the Himalayan glacier melt.
“Glaciers are melting at a very rapid speed and it is therefore surprising the government has shown little concern in addressing this whole issue,” he said.
Dr Pachauri also expressed surprise at why, although “this is one of the eight missions of the national action plan for climate change announced in 2008, no concrete had been taken to address the problem.” “Little concern has been shown by the government over the recession of Himalayan glaciers, which has wide environmental ramifications for South Asian nations,” he added.
Teri has set up glacier monitoring observatories at Kolhoi glacier in J&K and at the East Rathong glacier in Sikkim to help ensure accurate predictions on future flow patterns of Himalayan rivers.