Parliamentary Committee visits Leh

LEH, MAY 28(KMW): The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment & Forests visited Leh to assess various issues and to review the status of the environment in the region.
Headed by its chairman, Mr. Ashwani Kumar, its members include Mr. Ronald Sapa Talu, Mr. Bhupinder Singh, Smt. Bimla Kashyap Sood, Mr. Paul Manoj Pandian, Mr. C.P Narayanan and M.K Khan Joint Secretary Rajya Sabha.
The scientists of Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA ) and district level officers and engineers headed by Deputy Commissioner, Leh Saugat Biswas were also present.
Mr. Ashwani Kumar stated that the committee has taken an important decision to constitute a committee consisting of representatives of civil organization and NGOs under the chairmanship of DC, Leh so that the civil society organizations have a say on the matter relating to environmental issues adding that this committee will sit together at least once in a month. Expressing great concern over increasing numbers of cancer patients in Leh, he said that the committee is going to ask the TATA Medical Centre in Bombay and Indian Medical Research New Delhi to actively cooperate with J&K Govt to find out what can be done to prevent disease like cancer in Leh.
Ashwani further said that there is a large reservoir of plants with medicinal and aromatic values in the mountains of Ladakh which is needed to be commercialized so that people of this region can derive large amount of income from this natural resources at the same time unique biodiversity of Leh and Ladakh has to be preserved in a manner that the ecology is not affected and the people of Ladakh can obtain best possible prices from these traditional resources.
The effect of climate change was a very important issue which came up during the deliberations like receding of glaciers, flash floods, soil erosion, the attack of Locust, drying up of lakes, rise of temperature in water bodies, this have huge consequences for the ecology and economy of Ladakh.