In his open letter to the prime minister, Wangchuk stressed that India should take a lead in the year of glaciers, as the Himalayas have the third largest deposit of ice and snow on Earth after the Arctic and Antarctica, fetching it the name ‘Third Pole’.”India needs to take a lead in glacier preservation as we have the Himalayas, and our sacred rivers such as the Ganga and Yamuna come out of them,” Wangchuk said.Stating that he is an admirer of the environment initiatives taken by Modi, especially the ‘Mission LiFE’ campaign, Wangchuk in his letter urged the PM to set up a commission to assess the state of Himalayan glaciers.”As we all know, the glaciers of the Himalayas are melting very fast and if this and the accompanying deforestation continues at the current rate, in few decades our sacred rivers like Ganga, Bhramputra and Indus might become seasonal rivers. This may also mean that the next Maha Kumbh might only happen on the sandy remains of the sacred river,” he said.There is very little awareness on the ground among the common people, Wangchuk rued. “Therefore, I believe it is time that India, under your leadership, takes the lead as the nation with the most glaciers in the Himalayas,” he said.The climate activist suggested setting up of a commission to assess the state of the Himalayas glaciers, declaring major glaciers like Gangotri and Yamunotri as national treasures, and framing special policies that protect the Himalayas glaciers.He also sought an audience with the prime minister so that a group of community members from Ladakh can present a block of ice from one of Ladakh’s fast melting glaciers to him as a message from the climate affected people of the region.”In this year of glaciers, I plan to present a symbolic piece of glacier to all the world leaders. In fact, I just returned after presenting a similar glacier block at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to thank them for declaring 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. Wherever I go, I do not miss the opportunity to promote Mission LiFE as a message and gift from India to the world,” Wangchuk said.
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