SRINAGAR: Following the decline of mountain glaciers, resulting in a drinking water crisis during the summer, Ladakh has imposed a ban on all trekking expeditions to the popular Stok Kangri mountain range, The Tribune reported.
The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, issued an order prohibiting expedition activities on the mountain until further notice. Stok Kangri, situated at an elevation of 6,153 metres, attracts trekkers annually.
“Given the depletion of the Stok mountain glaciers and the environmental issue, it is ordered that all kinds of the expedition to Stok Kangri carried out by travel agencies, Army, Air Force and paramilitary forces is temporarily closed with immediate effect,” stated the LAHDC order.
The All-Ladakh Tour Operators Association had previously closed Stok Kangri mountain for trekking due to over-tourism, resulting in environmental problems, including glacier recession. The UT administration had also imposed intermittent bans to curb expeditions on the mountain range.
Various parts of Leh and Kargil, particularly during the tourist season, have experienced a significant water crisis. Studies, as per the report in The Tribune indicate a 25 per cent recession of glaciers in J&K and Ladakh over the past 60 years, with nearly 5,000 glaciers in Ladakh.
A recent study from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), revealed that the Parkachik glacier in Ladakh is likely to develop three lakes of different dimensions due to subglacial over-deepening. Another research on the Stok glacier described it as a north-east oriented debris-free glacier. The glaciers in the mountain range are typically small, high in altitude, and devoid of debris, resembling other glaciers in northern Zanskar.
