Difficult to sustain Himalayas' ecology, says Rijiju

Speaking of the disasters and rapid development reaching the mountain states and the upper Himalayan region, Union Minister Kiran Rijiju on Friday said it is becoming difficult to sustain the ecological balance.

Comparing India's resource and population ratio to that of the US, Rijiju said that the biggest question was how to survive as a nation.

"Human needs and greed have taken over everything... we see that those mountainous regions where roads and excessive development has not reached have a balance... this is not what Himalayas are meant to be," the Minister said addressing the summit of Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI).

The IMI is a civil society organisation of the 12 mountain states in the Indian Himalayan Region, backed by the Union and state governments and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

"Our motive is to bring Indian mountain people together and discuss the issues on a common platform and get the policies drafted accordingly," said P.D Rai, member of Parliament from Sikkim.

IMI aims to maintain the balance between development and ecology in Himalayan regions.

"Villages are forgetting the traditional ways of building houses. We have an ancient way of life and we are from a sensitive region, this is how we have sustained this long. We can't discard our old ways of life," the minsiter said, adding that extensive use of the modern technology in the Himalayan region is abusing the old and sustainable ways of life.

He said that one of the most difficult situations faced by him was when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) bans certain activities in some Himalayan regions and when he goes back home people complain of their bread and butter.

"We have not progressed in the manner we should have," Rijiju added.

--IANS

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