SHERPA DINNER 2005
New Delhi: Whenever the general house of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation meets in New Delhi, the obvious event in the previous evening the participants look forward to, is the Sherpa Dinner organised at the Legend Inn in South Delhi. The distinguished hosts Capt. M.S. Kohli and Mrs. Pushpa Kohli welcome the guests individually with the same warmth to this gala dinner which they supervise each and every detail personally from the menu items to the general ambience of the dining hall. This year, Sherpa Dinner, held on 25 Nov. 05, was attended by a galaxy of people - to name some of them - Gurdial Singh, Nalini Jayal, Suman Dubey, DVLN Ramakrishna Rao, General K.N. Dubey and many more and legendary figures.

Sherpa Dinner is a tradition instituted in 1995 and is organised every year on the eve of the Annual General Body Meeting of the IMF to meet and remember the legends of rock and snow; specially the Sherpas who have shaped the history of mountaineering. The venue of the dinner, built in 1995, with a 40 ft. high climbing wall, an adventure museum and hundreds of photographs of Himalayas, expeditions and legendary climbers - 'The Little Himalayas in Delhi'. It also hosts the headquarters of the Himalayan Environment Trust.

EVERESTER TO HEAD IMF
New Delhi: Major (Retd) H.P.S. Ahluwalia will take over as the President of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) from Shri N.N. Vohra. Major Ahluwalia had scaled Mt. Everest in 1965 as a member of the first successful Indian Expedition who putting nine of its members atop under the leadership of the Chairman HET, Capt. M.S. Kohli, I.N.

SIR EDMUND URGES HERITAGE STATUS TO MT. EVEREST
London: Sir Edmund Hillary said, "The warming of the environment of the Himalayas has increased noticeably over the last 50 years. This has caused several and severe floods from glacial lakes and much disruption to the environment and local people." "I agree the practical idea of remedial action of draining the lakes before they get to a dangerous condition is the only way to stop disasters. Therefore I support the petition to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee lodged by Pro Public and others, requesting the inclusion of Sagarmatha National Park in the list of World Heritage in Danger as a result of climate change and for protective measures and action," he said. While joining the environmental campaigners and lawyers in urging the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to place Mount Everest in the UN endangered list because of the impact of climate change. The campaign is organised by Pro Public (Friends of the Earth, Nepal) and the Climate Justice Programme, and is supported by Friends of the Earth International and notable individuals including Sir David Attenborongh, Sir Chris Bonington and Reinhold Messner.

BIRTHDAY OF SIR CHRIS BONINGTON
New Delhi: Sir Chris Bonington thanked Capt. M.S. Kohli, Chairman and the members of the Himalayan Environment Trust for sending good wishes on the occasion of his 86th birthday, which fell on 20 July. He said he had a lovely birthday with his family.

RING OF OZONE PUTS CLIMBERS AT RISK
New Delhi: Research showed that the Tibetan plateau is surrounded by a ring of ozone in comparable concentration to that in a heavily polluted city, putting climbers at risk. This extra dose of ozone could be devastating. "Ozone is very unstable and reacts with any surface of substance. Breathing high concentration of ozone causes coughing, chest pain and damage to the lining throughout the lung," said John Semple, a plastic surgeon from the University of Toronto, and a keen mountaineer who first measured the ozone concentration around the plateau. Dr. Semple, last year, was climbing the Yeli La pass in Bhutan while measuring the level of ozone. He found it increased as he climbed. "Usually pollution gets less as you climb out of it, but in this case the ozone levels increased with height," said Kent Moora, a physicist at the University of Toronto.

MARK TWAIN IN THE MOUNTAINS
Mumbai: "There was something subduing in the influence of that silent and awful presence; one seemed to meet the immutable and indestructible, the eternal, face to face, and feel the trivial and fleeting nature of his own existence more sharply by the contrast. While I was feeling these things I was groping, without knowing it, toward an understanding of what the spell is which people find in the mountains; that strange deep, nameless influence which once felt cannot be forgotten…" This passage is unforgettable not only for its sheer Victorian beauty, but also for the consummate precision with which it relates the experience one undergoes when surrounded by magnificent and towering mountains. Mark Twain, the unsurpassed literary craftsman was admiring the European Alps. But, for sure, he'd have written an equally beautiful passage extolling the Himalayas had he ever been here.

FORTHCOMING WORKSHOP ON KARAKORAM IN LAHORE
Omaha: Prof. John Shroder of the Department of Geography & Geology, University of Nebraska at Omaha has requested Capt. M.S. Kohli, the Chairman of the Himalayan Environment Trust to depute scientists and professionals of repute from India to contribute in the proposed Workshop on the Karakoram Himalayas and its association to 'Science for peace' to be held in early June'06 at Lahore. This will be followed by another follow-up Workshop in New Delhi in collaboration with the Himalayan Environment Trust. These events will attract experts from the Himalayan nations working in the areas: water, glaciers, natural resources, structural geology and petrology, natural hazards, seismology, mountain agriculture, tourism, mountain engineering, hydroelectricity, road construction, etc. This 'Science for Peace' initiative will increase the cross-border scientific investigations so that great problems, such as the recent terrible earthquake, can be studied more easily. A number of young American Scientists are expected to join who will later work in their respective fields of specialisation in this Himalayan region.

BUTTERFLIES MIGRATION - A PUZZLE TO SCIENTISTS
Mexico: Each year tens of millions of the fragile insects - monarch butterflies - make the 3000 mile voyage south, from Canada to Mexico, fluttering down the Mississippi valley, across the plains of Texas and over Mexico's rugged Sierra Madre mountain range to over winter in central Michoacan state, where they carpet thousands of black and orange. Flying in small hops of 60 to 70 miles a day, Vico Gutierrez, a Mexican pilot accompanied them on their journey in his ultra-light aircraft named 'Papalotzin', a word borrowed from the ancient Nahuatil language of the Aztecs which roughly translates as 'small butterflies'. The aim of the trip was to draw attention to their spectacular migration journeys in nature, and highlight the need for conservation. Understanding the cycle of life, migration and challenges of this small butterfly, which has the ability to fly more than 3000 miles, gives humanity a unique message: we can and should learn to confront the diverse challenges of life. We need to put in place conservation projects, not only for the butterflies but also for the forests, the mountains, the deserts, the oceans, rivers, plants and animals and we need this to happen so, so urgently.

IMPACT OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE ON HIMALAYAN GLACIERS
Kathmandu: The Himalayan mountain systems have nearly 1500 glaciers. It is estimated that these glaciers cover an area of about 33,000 km3, provide the snow and the glacial-melt waters, which keeps our perennial rivers running throughout the year. The constant retreat and advance of both glaciers and the polar ice caps provide an excellent record of the planet's changing climate. The extent of climate change is already revealed, in the several hundred meters retreat of the Rhone glacier at the foot of Mont Blanc in Europe over the past 200 years. Both the Alps and the Caucasus mountains have lost half their ice cover in the past century. Mt. Kilimanjaro has lost about 82 percent of its Ice-cap, since 1912. In the thousands of glaciers in the Tien Shah of Central Asia, 22 percent of the Ice Volume has disappeared in the past 40 years/ almost 67 percent of the Himalayan glaciers have retreated in the past decade. The available records suggest that Gangotri has receded by an area of 0.57 km2 or by about 30 m/year, since 1935. Monitoring of this phenomenon can provide ongoing evidence of the rate of climate change and is also essential to plan the allocation and distribution of water from the many glaciersfed rivers which are of vital importance both for human communities and for the survival of many species. It is predicted that with global warming the climate sensitivity of geomorphological processes, such as rock weathering, erosion and mass movement will increase. Global warming may reduce the altitudinal contrasts in species diversity, succession rate and population status leading an upward shift in species colonisation. The permanent snow-lines will be disturbed as also the hydrological cycle. As mountain glaciers continue to disappear, the volume of water in glacierfed rivers may eventually be reduced as a result of loss of ice resources.

MOUNTAIN LINES FOR TOURISM
New Delhi: The lovely old railway to Ooty in Tamil Nadu has taken its place on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. Tamil Nadu Government, a state government, may not be adequately equipped for an international tourism promotion effort. This requires joint action by the railway and tourism ministries and must not be confined to the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, or its sibling on the UNESCO list, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. All the hill railways - the Kalka-Shimla and Kangra Valley lines in Himachal and the Neral-Matheran system in Maharashtra must be promoted together. Each has its own speciality - the loops and Zs of Darjeeling's toy-train and the rack-and-pinion device on the Nilgiri line to cite a couple of examples. The package must offer more than joy rides; visits to the loco-sheds, the carriage workshops, the station-master's little office and the signalman's cabin would be added attractions. Undergoing that would be an effort to preserve buildings, lighting, clocks, bells, notice-boards and so on in a condition as close to their original as possible. Such a conservation effort with expert advice from abroad and drafting tourism package by tourism professionals will generate the funds needed to keep the hill lines out of the red and pay for themselves.

EARTHQUAKES & HIMALAYAN ECOLOGY
New Delhi: Earthquakes are really deadly when they occur in the Himalayas, because these mountains are geologically young, fragile formations, and for that reason are particularly prone to landslides. This needs to be kept in mind while formulating development plans and policies for the Himalayan region, or for that matter, while carrying out construction and mining work there. Heavy construction concentrated in a limited area as well as the use of dynamite for mining and quarrying increase the vulnerability of hills to landslides. We cannot present earthquakes, but we can reduce loss of human lives and damage to property. In the Himalayan region, it is important to increase the stability of land mass, particularly in the vulnerable slopes. In many Himalayan areas, destructive mining, unnecessary road constructions, bigger and smaller dams and hydel projects, indiscriminate deforestation, concentration of tourism activities in small areas and even some developmental work done in the name of security are some causes of disaster. It is suicidal to ignore these dangers that can strike all, regardless of national, ethnic or religious identity. Our future lies in bowing to the might and awe of Nature, and respecting all forms of life in the Himalayas.

HIMALAYAN TUNNEL DAMAGED IN EARTHQUAKE
Srinagar: The Jawahar Tunnel on Srinagar - Jammu highway, the economic lifeline of Kashmir, suffered damages in the 8 October earthquake. The three - km tunnel, considered one of the longest tunnels in Asia, cuts through the gigantic Peer Panjal mountain range. The tunnel is guarded round the clock by Army and has been operational since 1956. It was built by German engineers.

IMPURE GANGA?
Dehradun: Raising a question on the purity of the Ganga, environmentalist Sunder Lal Bahaguna said that the Ganga, the only source of living water in India, is not all the same after the closure of tunnel T2, halting the Bhagirathi water. Bhagirathi, coming out from Gaumukh joins Alaknanda in Devprayag to become the sacred Ganges. The only source of living water in India used to be between Gaumukh and Hardwar which was purest form of water found nowhere else. It is being said that the water reaching Hardwar is not the actual Ganga as Bhagirathi, being halted at the Tehri dam, is not meeting Alaknanda at Devprayag. But the officials of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) claim that this is not true. Two 40 cm wide pipe have been kept open near the diversion tunnel (T1) so that the Bhagirathi flows freely and meets Alaknanda in Devprayag.

HIMALAYAN TOWN SUBMERGED
Dehradun: Following the closure of the last water tunnel of a controversial hydro-electric dam, the historic Himalayan town of Tehri is finally completely submerged under water. The clock tower, schools, offices, market, temple, mosque and gurudwara which made up of this once-bustling town now lie beneath the Bhilganga river. Water levels of the Tehri dam rose to 658 m following the closure of the T-2 tunnel, which finally engulfed the ancient town, once home to around 14,000 people. The old Simlasu bridge is also under water. The Tehri dam in the northern state of Uttaranchal has displaced an estimated 100,000 people, plunging 125 villages under a vast artificial lake created by the dam, which at 261 metres is the highest in Asia. The administration has blocked all routes towards Tehri and the Bhilangana and the old Tehri-Dhansali-Srinagar motorable road has been closed. Movement is allowed only by the zero bridge.

WWF REPORT ON GLACIER RETREAT IN HIMALAYAS
New Delhi: A recent WWF report entitled "An Overview of Glaciers, Glacier Retreat and subsequent impacts in Nepal, India and China" reveals the rate of retreat of Himalayan glaciers accelerating as global warming increases. The report states that glaciers in the region are now receding at an average rate of 10-15 metres per year. According to Jennifer Morgam, the director of WWF's Global Climate Change Programme, the rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers will first increase the volume of water in rivers, causing widespread flooding. But in a few decades this situation will change and the water level in rivers will decline, meaning massive economic and environmental problems for people in western China, Nepal, and northern India. Himalayan glaciers feed into seven of Asia's greatest rivers (the Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze, and Huange Ho) , ensuring a year-round water supply to hundreds of millions of people in the Indian subcontinent and China. As glacier water flows dwindle, the energy potential of hydroelectric power will decrease, causing problems for industry, while reduced irrigation means lower crop production. Nepal has an annual average temperature rise of 0.06 degree Centigrade per year. The report shows that three of Nepal's snow-fed rivers have shown declining trends in discharge. In China, the report shows that Qinhai plateau's wetlands have seen declining lake water levels, lake shrinkage, the absence of water flow in rivers and streams, and the degradation of swamp wetlands. In India, the Gangotri glacier, which supports one of India's largest river basins, is receding at an average rate of 23 metres per year.

ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY PRACTICE IN LEH
Leh: Like the Pamir Knot, the cold and high altitude desert of Leh and Ladakh is also referred to as the "roof of the world". Surely, it is so with the world's highest motorable pass - the Khardung La, also popularly known as K-Top. It stands at a mighty height of 18,400 feet above sea level surrounded by snow peaks all around. The cold desert has barren soil that is composed of small pebbles and very big stones. The fertile slope in patches that are developed by farmers and the Agriculture Department. Leh berries and juice is an example of Leh product. But the thing which really impresses a person is that there are no plastic bags scattered anywhere. As a result, the streets are very clean. You purchase anything, it will be given wrapped in paper. If you ask for a plastic bag to put things in it, he will provide you again a bigger paper bag. People of Leh deserve to be congratulated for the non-polluting, eco-friendly paper bags. This is indeed a good practice that people in other hill stations or for that matter anywhere, should adopt.

NHPC CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT IN THE HIMALAYAS
Manali: National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd. (NHPC) and Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) have pooled their efforts aimed at conservation of wildlife and environment in an area comprising 754 sq km, part of which falls under the purview of the Parbati Hydroelectric project. The emphasis has been made to conserve and preserve rare wildlife, flora and fauna. In fact the project envisages an expenditure of Rs. 35.4 crore for habitat improvement and conservation of endangered species like Jujurana of the Western Tragopan. Also Rs. 26.71 crore has been earmarked under Catchment Area Treatment Plan and Compensatory Afforestation Scheme to conserve and preserve Natural Ecosystem and to avoid soil erosion and land degradation, by taking up adequate and effective soil conservation measures and landslides control as approved by Ministry of Environment and Forests. The project has also developed an herbal Park at Manikaran with the help of the State Forest Department. Different species of medicinal plants, aromatic plants as well as herbs such as Oregano, Thyme, Parsley and Tarragon have been planted.

HYDRO-ELECTRIC PROJECT HELPS DEVELOPMENT OF THREE VALLEYS IN KULLU REGION
Kullu: Himachal, is a land blessed with snow-capped Himalayas and the rich river valleys of Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj and Yamuna among others. These snow fed rivers carry copious surging waters all around the year, confined within steep slopes and rugged beds, which can be exploited for power generation. In fact the hydroelectric potentials here is estimated to be more than 20, 000 MW, which can meet the ever-growing power shortage in the northern region of India. The tumultuous waters of Parbati river and its tributaries as well as Sainj river and its tributaries, in addition small streams, which are tributaries of Beas river, are being harnessed from the wilderness to not only create power but also enhance the entire area. Parbati hydroelectric project located in the Kullu district, is a run of the river scheme to generate 800 MW (commissioned by NHPC). It is 85 m high and 101.5 m long concrete gravity dam with a gross storage capacity of 6.55 M cum. The works of this project spans the slopes of three more valleys - the Manikaran, Garsa and Sainj. These valleys were remote, densely forested and snowbound in winter, with narrow roads and in some places remains completely unapproachable. But now their development - forsaken character has changed drastically. And Parbati project has made that possible. In Manikaran valley a 15 km new double-lane road from Mainkaran to Parbati dam site at Pulga village has been constructed at 12 crores. In order to approach the other bank two bailey bridges have also been constructed. A bridge approaching Jigrai Nallah Trench Weir has been constructed with a span of 120 ft. It provides instant all-weather access to the villages situated on the other bank. Also a 131 feet span bailey bridge on the downstream of Parbati river has been constructed along with 3 km roads, which shall also provide access to Kulga village. The Bhuntar (airport) Manikaran road is being widened and upgraded at a cost of 3 crores. A bridge over Kasol nullah, was converted into a concrete bridge. Small footbridge, washed away by floods, has been reconstructed on Tosh nallah as this was the only access to remote high altitude areas like Nakthan, Khirganga, Tunda Bhoj, Dibi Bokhri and Mantalai. Several weak bridges have been upgraded on NH-21 from Mandi to the project area to build a connectivity matrix in the underdeveloped area. In Sainj Valley, an 18.1 km road to Railah village at the cost of 10 crores has been constructed providing access to Jiwa, Baghidar, Sram and Raskut. Near Sainj village at Suind, a 55 m pre-stressed concrete bridge was constructed over Sainj river, which connects all the remote villages on the other bank. All-weather foot paths in the Railla area have been constructed to benefit the locals. In the Garsa Valley, the most far-flung in the project area, has been provided all-weather footpaths. The life of the helpless people of remotest village Manihar, 40 km from Bhuntar, is redeemed by the project. A double lane, 124 m wide concrete bridge over river Beas at Bajoura, constructed to carry the heavy machinery and materials proved extremely beneficial to the surrounding 24 villages providing an important link to the Garsa -Sheelagarh area and NH-21. The project is also undertaking a new road from Garsa to Sheelagarh costing 25 crores. This 15 km double lane road is a boon to numerous villages that are now linked to city-centres. A 20 m wide bridge over Ursu nallah, and a 30 m wide Huria Bridge have also been constructed which can weather extreme events such as cloudbursts.

BOOK ON KUMAON HIMALAYAS
Nainital: Dr. H.A. Osmaston (<osmaston@clara.net>), was in Dehradun and Nainital recently. He was born in 1922 in Dehradun and served in Uganda as forester. His father, Arthur Osmaston was a forester in Kumaon Himalayas in 1910 and wrote a book titled 'A forest flora of Kumaon'. His uncle, Bertrum Osmaston's book 'Wildlife and Adventures in Indian Forests' is still available in Dehradun (from Natraj Publishers) which is an interesting illustrated account of the life of a forester in India during this period.

GREEN GLORY FOR NORTH-EAST HIMALAYAS
New Delhi: The picturesque North-East India has just got more accolades for its green cover. A recent survey conducted by the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature-India in association with the Centre for Biodiversity Management (CBM), Australia, has placed the North Bank Landscape (NBL) is an area in the Himalayan foothills, north of the Brahmaputra river and includes parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The survey assessed the 'above-ground biodiversity' in the NBL over an area of 14000 sq. km. through 14 samples plots in both states from a base located at Bhalokpung in Arunachal Pradesh. "NBL is a strategic conservation zone that is home to an estimated 40% of the Indian population of Asian elephants as well as key populations of Indian rhinoceros, tigers and leopards," says Tariq Aziz of WWF-India, a member of the survey team headed by Dr. Andrew N. Gillison, director of CBM. The standard measures of biodiversity richness are number of species, plant functional type richness (PFT) and plant functional complexity (PFC) and the survey looked at these aspects of the N-E. A comparison of these three values across sites in 20 other countries proved that the NBL was a global biodiversity hotspot.