From Laddakh to Sikkim,many big glaciers are shrinking in size including Bhagirath by 11%, Alaknanda by 15%, Gauri& Dholi by 16%. Some of the glaciers are shrunk by 38%. It is not alone the rise in global temperature that is affecting these glaciers but the rise in local temperature also has its share in disturbing glaciers, ice-ponds in Himalayas! In the year 2008,Kosi,a tributary of the river Ganges,altered its course by 35 kilometers,totally disturbing the lives of people at leastin four of the districts,connected withthe altered course of the river asthey could never even think that the riverwill change its course!
Almost all the rivers from those in North East to Ganges, Godavari, Kaveri etc are disturbed and so are the hills-the disastrous effect of nature's fury is quite visible not only in hills but in plains also in the form of frequent floods, earthquakes disturbing the life of millions! The beautiful Rhododendrons flowers that bloom in the month of March-April have now started flowering in January thanks to the changing climate. People in hills find this unnatural phenomenon as an indicator of a bad omen! People of the hills heard the silent but a deadly turbulence in nature threatening their life line-the forests and the hills. They united together in protest against the wrong policies concerning forest...and it became one of the most powerful people's movement-the Chipko Movement, that forced all those who mattered including the state government, to review their policies, listen to the people and also their ways to handle the problem.
