Sir,
This refers to the editorial ‘Threatened Ladakh ecology’ (DE,August19,2015).It is really a matter of serious concern that Ladakh,the largest district in the Indian Union, is in the danger of its fragile ecological balance being disturbed by global warming as pointed out by the Parliamentary delegation which visted this ecosensitive tourist resort recently.There is no doubt that Ladakh, the land of the Lamas, is one of the most favourite tourist destinations across the world and thousands of tourists from across India and the world throng this place every year.
Thus, it is imperative that steps are taken to ensure that its fragile ecology is not threatened while undertaking developmental works and provision of facilities to the tourists. Renewable and ecofriendly sources of energy such as solar power, hydropower etc need to be used to preserve the pristine beauty of nature in Ladakh.The region needs to be declared ecosensitive and use of plastic bags and other non biodegradable materials must be totally banned strictly.Modern waste management plants need to be operationalized to treat biomedical and other wastes generated in the area.
At the same time, air pollution caused due to the burning of fossil fuels at homes and in vehicles needs to be checked.In fact, viable alternatives such as solar cars, electric cars and CNG driven vehicles need to be explored to save the fragile ecology of the region.More and more plants need to be planted along the banks of rivers and other barren lands.Steps also need to be taken to check unplanned urbanization.All these steps need to be taken now, for tomorrow it may be too late and we may disturb the delicate balance to such an extent that it becomes impossible to restore it.Ladakh has a culture and ecology of its own and every effort must be made to conserve and preserve them.The number of hotels and dhabas too need to be restricted and it must be made mandatory for them to use green and clean fuels as also waste disposal mechanism to check environmental pollution.
As suggested by the Parliamentary Delegation, a committee should be constituted to study the ecology of Ladakh and impact of global warming on ecology and implement its recommendations without delay to ensure that while efforts are made to attract more tourists to boost local economy,the fragile ecology of the region is not threatened.
Yours etc….
Ankita Sharma
Udhampur
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