India should take lead in preserving glaciers: Sonam Wangchuk writes open letter to PM
New Delhi: Fresh from his tour to the US where he carried a piece of ice from a glacier in Ladakh to flag their fast melting, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that India should take a lead in addressing the issue.
Drawing attention to the gravity of the situation in the Himalayas, Wangchuk told a press conference in the capital that if steps are not taken to restore these glaciers which are the source of our perennial rivers, the next Maha Kumbh after 144 years may be held on sand as the rivers may dry up.
Wangchuk, who has been working on preserving Himalayan glaciers, travelled from Ladakh to Delhi, and then to the US with a piece of ice from a glacier in Khardung La. The ice was placed in a container wrapped in Ladakh's iconic Pashmina wool for insulation.
The ice was taken to the UN office in Delhi, before he flew to the US where it travelled along with the climate activist to the Harvard Kennedy School, MIT, at Boston and to the UN headquarters in New York, before being immersed at the confluence of Hudson River and East River in New York on February 21, a month ahead of The World Day for Glaciers which will be observed on March 21.
The United Nations (UN) has declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation.
Wangchuk, who sent out a message of reducing demands instead of finding new means of supply to manage climate change, delivered his talks with the glacial ice melting next to him, symbolising how glaciers are receding as talks go on.
Back in India, the climate activist recounted how they had to trek a few kilometres to get the ice from the glacier at Khardung La, the highest motorable pass in the world at 5,359 metres in Leh district.
Wangchuk rued that over the years, glacial ice has been receding but action remains delayed.
In his open letter to the prime minister, Wangchuk stressed that India should take a lead in the year of glaciers, as the Himalayas have the third largest deposit of ice and snow on Earth after the Arctic and Antarctica, fetching it the name 'Third Pole'.
"India needs to take a lead in glacier preservation as we have the Himalayas, and our sacred rivers such as the Ganga and Yamuna come out of them," Wangchuk said.
Stating that he is an admirer of the environment initiatives taken by Prime Minister Modi, especially the 'Mission LiFE' campaign, Wangchuk in his letter urged Modi to set up a commission to assess the state of Himalayan glaciers.
"As we all know, the glaciers of the Himalayas are melting very fast and if this and the accompanying deforestation continues at the current rate, in few decades our sacred rivers like Ganga, Bhramputra and Indus might become seasonal rivers. This may also mean that the next Maha Kumbh might only happen on the sandy remains of the sacred river," Wangchuk said.
There is very little awareness on the ground among the common people, he rued.
"Therefore, I believe it is time that India, under your leadership, takes the lead as the nation with the most glaciers in the Himalayas," Wangchuk said.
The climate activist suggested setting up of a commission to assess the state of the Himalayas glaciers, declaring major glaciers like Gangotri and Yamunotri as national treasures, and framing special policies that protect the Himalayas glaciers.
He also sought an audience with the prime minister so that a group of community members from Ladakh can present a block of ice from one of Ladakh's fast melting glaciers to him as a message from the climate affected people of the region.
"In this year of glaciers, I plan to present a symbolic piece of glacier to all the world leaders. In fact, I just returned after presenting a similar glacier block at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to thank them for declaring 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation. Wherever I go, I do not miss the opportunity to promote Mission LiFE as a message and gift from India to the world," Wangchuk said.
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BCI urges CJI to take action against Andhra HC judge for sending young lawyer to 24-hour custody
New Delhi (PTI): The Bar Council of India on Wednesday sought the urgent intervention of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant following a "deeply disturbing" incident where a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court reportedly sent a young advocate to
24-hour judicial custody over a procedural lapse.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairperson and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, in a formal representation, termed the conduct of Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao "grossly inappropriate" and "damaging to the confidence of the Bar".
“I most respectfully request your Lordship to kindly take immediate institutional cognizance of the matter and call for the video recording of the proceedings, the order passed, and the surrounding circumstances.
“I further request that appropriate administrative action may kindly be considered, including withdrawal of judicial work from the learned Judge pending review, his immediate transfer to some far off High Court, and his nomination for appropriate judicial training/orientation on court management, judicial temperament, Bar-Bench relations, and proportional exercise of contempt/judicial authority,” Mishra wrote.
This representation is made to preserve the “dignity, moral authority and public confidence of the judiciary”, he said, adding, “Judges command the highest respect not by fear, but by fairness, patience, restraint and constitutional humility”.
The communication urged the CJI to intervene at the earliest to ensure that the faith of Bar, particularly young advocates, in the protective and corrective role of the judiciary is restored.
The controversy stems from proceedings on May 5.
According to the BCI, a video circulating online shows Justice Rao rebuking a young advocate who was unable to produce a specific order copy during a hearing.
The letter said that despite the advocate "repeatedly seeking pardon and mercy" and claiming he was in physical pain, the judge remained "unmoved".
The judge allegedly told the lawyer, "now you will learn," and mocked his experience before directing the Registrar and police personnel to take him into custody for 24 hours.
The BCI chairperson said that the judge’s actions lacked proportionality and fairness.
"The dignity of the court is not enhanced when a lawyer is made to beg for grace in open court and is still sent to custody for a procedural lapse," the letter said.
"A young lawyer... is an officer of the Court, still learning, still growing, and entitled to correction without humiliation," it added.
The bar body said that such actions create a "chilling effect" on the legal fraternity, particularly among junior members, and undermine the mutual respect required between the Bench and the Bar.
