Indian Army clears 130 tonnes of garbage from Siachen Glacier

At a time when the world is fighting against climate change, the Indian Army has cleared more than 130 tonnes of garbage from the Siachen glacier in the last 19 months.

"Under the 'Siachen Swachhta Abhiyan', Indian Army has managed to clean 130 tonnes of garbage from the Siachen Glacier since January 2018," Indian Army officials said on Tuesday.

The garbage gets accumulated in the world's highest battlefield due to the deployment of Indian Army soldiers.

The Indian Army has also now prepared a Standard Operating Procedure for its troops deployed in the glacier as per which while coming down to base camp, they have to bring along whatever little garbage they can carry in the tough conditions.

Out of the 130.14 tonnes brought down, 48.14 tonnes is non-biodegradable while 40 tonnes include plastic and glass waste. The metallic content including shells of ammunition is around 41.45 tonnes.

To take care of the waste collected from the Glacier, the Army has put up a paper bailer machine which converts the paper cartons and other such things which are reusable.

For disposing off the non-metallic waste, the Army has put three incinerators at three different places. The Army is also looking for industrial crushers which can help in disposing off the metallic waste.