The tip of the iceberg? Glacial Melting causing havoc

The dwindling water has forced communities in Shun village, Lungnag valley in the remote Zanskar region decide to shift base from their traditional land.

Trudging down the street of Leh bazaar, a pall of gloom on his face, Ishay Tundup, anelderly farmer holds up a bag full of green vegetables . An ordinary sight surely but it wasfar from that. This 70-year-old man had grown vegetables all his life. He had never needed to buy them from a bazaar. Tundup is one amongst the many farmers who have suffered the effects of drought in Ladakh last summer, a phenomenon unheard of. Sonam Zangpo, another farmer who is also the Leh Phoomdo Goba or the Headman of Leh district said, “It was (the water scarcity) extreme last season, our fields received just four waters (four times) in the whole season.” Normally barley fields receive water through the irrigation channels 12 to 14 during the period of cultivation. Streams ran dry and the staple crop barley, whichwas water-starved, grew stunted.

This pattern of nature going awry has become apparent over the last decade this high altitude trans-Himalayan region. A drastic reduction in the Indus River waters and in smaller streams, disappearing glaciers, flash floods, lake overflows. Many natural springs, which for centuries have been a source of drinking water and irrigation, have gone dry.

Ladakh, likened to an oasis in the icy desert attracts thousands of tourists with its rugged terrain, its immense potential for trekking in the semiarid highland. But now crossing fast-flowing and intricately linked rivulets does not hold that thrill anymore. “You can now cross these tributaries without wetting your shoes with the help of stones that have emerged on the water surface,” says Tsering, a veteran tour operator The famous 22-daytrek from Lamayuru to Darcha cutting across the Himalayan range had a memorable stretch at the Shinkun La pass, which meant crossing the glacier. Now deep moraines have developed caused by the melting glacier and this route is now omitted from the trekking itinerary.

The Khardong La pass, also a must for the trekking enthusiasts is called the ‘Highest Motorable Pass in the World” , a lifeline for locals between Leh town and Nubra valley. Here too the rising temperatures have led to a complete disappearance of the glacier, which used to straddle the road.People in Leh have been witnessing glaciers shrinking literally beforetheir eyes. They have seen flash floods in 1999 and in 2006 caused by recessional glacial lake outbursts at Nang-tse and Phu-tse glacier. According to Joseph T Gergan, Glacial Scientist at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, these are the sourcesof water supply to Leh town The fast melting glaciers’ in Changthang area are pouring into the famous Pangong lake which lies partly in India and the rest in Tibet. The overflowing waters recently submerged the roads adjacent to the long shore of the lake, which then needed to be rebuilt.

Communities settled along the Indus belt areas have their own woes to tell. Water canals in Chushot, Choglamsar, Spituk and Phey villages are stretching further upstream to access the rapidly receding waters of the Indus River. “We had to build fresh canals to draw water further up from the Indus as one of the three courses of the river along our village has completely gone dry,” said Mohd. Sadiq, Goba of Chushot village. “There was not a single drop in our stream last summer,” said Tsering Angdus, an elderly villager in Phey .He remembered those days when snow was kneehigh everywhere, which lasted the whole winter. “Today you don’t get to see any snow”, Angdus lamented.

The dwindling water has forced communities in Shun village, Lungnag valley in the remote Zanskar region decide to shift base from their traditional land. They now inhabit Darcha on Leh-Manali road, a difficult trek of several days from their ancestral village. At Phu-tse glacier the breaching point where the lake was formed due to melting is apparent.So is the larger lake at the snout of Khardongla glacier. Disturbing signs which point to the fact that the seemingly solid glaciers are in the process of melting.

The burgeoning water problem meanwhile has been taking up the attention of the LadakhAutonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), the principal body of policy and implementation in the region. In a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Tsewang Rigzin Councillor of Diskit constituency of Nubra Valley has suggested a tunnel be built across Khardong la pass. This would divert the flow of the north-facing glaciers towardsLeh town. It would prevent water going down its natural incline towards from Shayok River of Nubra valley.

Chering Dorjey, Chief Executive Commissioner, LAHDC, Leh is concerned about the depleting underground water sources and has mooted a Water Supply Scheme to lift water from the Indus River. More and more villages like Taru, Phey, Nang, Stagmo and Sakti in Ladakh, facing water scarcity are now building reservoirs under Watershed and Haryali schemes.

Mr. Gergan who has studied the issue, believes that the numerous moraines created bythe glacial melt could work as small, manageable check dams to preserve water as well as rejuvenate the springs. In several countries facing glacier recession, like Switzerland, artificial covers from sun are provided. Artificial glaciers along side hills protect the original glacier and preserve the vast stretch of permafrost. In Ladakh, such steps wouldbe a boon, a much-required action to protect its precious natural water reserves , the life-giving resource for its people.

The administration both at the level of the Ladakh Hill Council and the J&K state governmentneeds to address the issue much more seriously. Meeting the immediate challenge of watershortage should receive top priority but it needs to go much beyond that. The larger issue ofglobal warming and its effects in the region needs urgent attention to be taken up at relevant policy forums in the country.

For the locals, the issue glacial melting is not an academic one. It not only affects water supply, agriculture but and their very survival in high terrain region which for centuries has been fed by the natural springs and streams. Unless the authorities wake up and take action that is so required, the people in Ladakh will continue to suffer and this pristine, sensitive eco-system will continue to be ravaged.

(Charkha Features)