Need to preserve rivers, Himalayas: Javadekar on Uttarakhand cloudburst

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday batted for preserving rivers and protecting the Himalayas in the aftermath of the Uttarakhand cloudburst which killed at least seven people.

"Concerned state government and central home ministry... they are already on the job but this is why we need to preserve our rivers and we should not encroach on river belts and also preserve Himalayas," Javadekar told the media here.

At least seven people were killed following cloudburst and landslides as heavy rains lashed Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts of Uttarakhand on Friday.

"As we know climate change has increased the frequency of certain events. Narendra Modi government has for the first time after Independence allotted Rs 100 crore to carry on studies of various aspects of Himalayan ecology and we have already started working on 27 projects in which all such disaster resilience and disaster prediction and all such aspects are there," he added.

--IANS

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