Expedition team raises awareness on conservation of Himalayan meadows

The campaigns participants also spoke to tourists from different parts of the country and asked about their experience of visiting the region and took suggestions on improving the condition of the Himalayan meadows.They also talked to half a dozen sheep herders who knew the meadows closely.

A public awareness campaign to conserve the Himalayan meadows known for their scenic beauty and herbal wealth concluded on Tuesday at Regdi village in Chamoli district. The campaign during which more than a dozen meadows between Auli and Kunwari Pass were studied and purged of non-biodegradable waste started on September 9 from the Nanda Devi Biosphere reserve. The expedition team, which included women, traversed a distance of nearly 50 km on foot amid heavy rain in the upper Himalayan region during the campaign to sensitise people about the need to save the meadows. On the conclusion of the campaign, eminent environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt thanked the team for conducting this campaign without being deterred by the challenges of bad weather. Bhatt also reminisced about the close association of Regri village with the Chipko movement. In the closing months of 1977, it was from Regdi that the process of forming watch-dog committees in different villages had started to save the Raini forests,'' he said. Conferred with the Padma Bhushan in 2005, Bhatt is considered one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement. Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel, journalists, social workers, professors, students and officials of Nanda Devi National Park Forest Division participated in this campaign. The campaign's participants also spoke to tourists from different parts of the country and asked about their experience of visiting the region and took suggestions on improving the condition of the Himalayan meadows.

They also talked to half a dozen sheep herders who knew the meadows closely. Their experiences of four to five decades were compiled.