Environmentalists, social activists and voluntary organisations have decided to start a Himalaya Policy National Campaign. This campaign will be undertaken in areas from Gangotri in Uttarakhand to Ganga Sagar in West Bengal in the first phase, in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, North East India, Kohima and Darjeeling in the second. This decision was taken at a three-day meet of activists related to Himalaya Seva Sangh, Uttarakhand Nadi Bachao Abhiyan, Uttarakhand Sarvoday Mandal, other voluntary organisations and environmentalists at Kausani.
According to Suresh Bhai of Uttarakhand Nadi Bachao Abhiyan, a meeting of selected experts from Himalayan states will be organised by Himalaya Seva Sangh, Delhi to raise awareness on Himalaya people's policy in universities, schools and among the general public. Stress will be laid on including disaster in the Himalayan region, the present condition of forests, land and water, effect of climate change, tourism, migration, the effect of dam tunnels and other issues with examples in the draft of the Himalaya policy.
A draft of the Himalaya people's policy will also be submitted at the Prime Minister's office on September 9 which is commemorated as Himalaya Day after which the first phase of the national campaign will be started.
Environmental and social organisations have expressed concern at the negative impact of indiscriminate tourism on the high altitude alpine meadows in the Himalayas and the detrimental effects of a parasite on the oak, rhododendron, walnut and other broad leafed trees in the Himalayas. Stating that the parasite is causing these trees to wither away, the activists have demanding a scientific investigation of this phenomenon. The activities of the mining mafia are also destroying the environment in the mountains while also exerting pressure on the villages and farmlands causing the locals to migrate.
During the three-day meet held at Kausani, the activists stressed that the Ganga should not be cleaned only at Varanasi but the Ganga, its tributaries and other important rivers should be cleaned at Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath.
Those living on the banks of the Ganga and other rivers should also be involved in the cleaning process as the Himalayan rivers cannot be cleaned by contractors and companies alone. The improper use of land and water resources in the Himalayas is also abetting disaster scenarios, stressed the activists. Noted activist and Indira Gandhi Environment award recipient Radha Behen, Manoj Pandey of Himalaya Seva Sangh and activists from various Indian States were among those who participated in the meeting.