Siachen Glacier
Siachen Glacier | |
---|---|
Location of the Siachen Glacier within the greater Karakoram region | |
Type | Mountain glacier |
Location | Karakoram, Ladakh (controlled by India, claimed by Pakistan) |
Coordinates | 35°11′55.00″N 77°12′5.00″E / 35.1986111°N 77.2013889°E |
Area | 2,500 km2 (970 sq mi)[1] |
Length | 76 km (47 mi) using the longest route as is done when determining river lengths or 70 km (43 mi) if measuring from Indira Col[2] |
The Siachen Glacier is a
The Siachen Glacier lies immediately south of the great
Etymology
"Sia" in the
Dispute
Both India and Pakistan
Aside from the Indian and Pakistani military presence, the glacier region is unpopulated. The nearest civilian settlement is the village of
The 1949 Karachi agreement only carefully delineated the line of separation to point NJ9842, after which, the agreement states, the line of separation would continue "thence north to the glaciers".[4][46][47][48][49] According to the Indian stance, the line of separation should continue roughly northwards along the Saltoro Range to the west of the Siachen glacier beyond NJ9842;[50] international boundary lines that follow mountain ranges often do so by following the watershed drainage divide[44] such as that of the Saltoro Range.[51] The 1972 Simla Agreement made no change to the 1949 Line of Control in this northernmost sector.
Drainage
The glacier's melting waters are the main source of the Nubra River in the Indian region of Ladakh, which drains into the Shyok River. The Shyok in turn joins the 3000 kilometre-long Indus River which flows through Pakistan. Thus, the glacier is a major source of the Indus[52] and feeds the largest irrigation system in the world.[53]
Environmental issues
The glacier was uninhabited before 1984, and the presence of thousands of troops since then has introduced pollution and melting to the glacier. To support the troops, glacial ice has been cut and melted with chemicals.[citation needed]
Dumping of non-biodegradable waste in large quantities and the use of arms and ammunition have considerably affected the ecosystem of the region.[54]
Glacial retreat
Preliminary findings of a survey by Pakistan Meteorological Department in 2007 revealed that the Siachen glacier has been retreating for the past 30 years and is melting at an alarming rate.[55] The study of satellite images of the glacier showed that the glacier is retreating at a rate of about 110 metres a year and that the glacier size has decreased by almost 35 percent.[52][56] In an eleven-year period, the glacier had receded nearly 800 metres,[57] and in seventeen years about 1700 metres. It is predicted that the glaciers of the Siachen region will be reduced to about one-fifth of their 2011 size by 2035.[58] In the twenty-nine-year period 1929–1958, well before the military occupation, the glacial retreat was recorded to be about 914 metres.[59] One of the reasons theorized for the recent glacial retreat is chemical blasting, to construct camps and posts.[60] In 2001 India laid oil pipelines (about 250 kilometres long) inside the glacier to supply kerosene and aviation fuel to the outposts from base camps.[60][61] As of 2007, the temperature rise at Siachen was estimated at 0.2-degree Celsius annually, causing melting, avalanches, and crevasses in the glacier.[62]
Waste dumping
The waste produced by the troops stationed there is dumped in the crevasses of the glacier. Mountaineers who visited the area while on climbing expeditions witnessed large amount of garbage, empty ammunition shells, parachutes etc. dumped on the glacier, that neither decomposes nor can be burned because of the extreme climatic conditions.[63] About 1,000 kilograms (1.1 short tons) of waste is produced and dumped in glacial crevasses daily by Indian forces.[55] The Indian army is said to have planned a "Green Siachen, Clean Siachen" campaign to airlift the garbage from the glacier, and to use biodigestors for biodegradable waste in the absence of oxygen and freezing temperatures.[64] Almost forty percent (40%) of the waste left at the glacier is plastic and metal, including toxins such as cobalt, cadmium and chromium that eventually affect the water of the Shyok River (which ultimately enters the Indus River near Skardu). The Indus is used for drinking and irrigation.[65][66] Research is being done by scientists of The Energy and Resources Institute, to find ways to successfully dispose of the garbage generated at the glacier using scientific means.[67] Some scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation who went on an expedition to Antarctica are also working to produce a bacterium that can thrive in extreme weather conditions and can be helpful in decomposing the biodegradable waste naturally.[68]
Fauna and flora
The flora and fauna of the Siachen region are also affected by the huge military presence.[65] The region is home to rare species including snow leopard, brown bear and ibex that are at risk because of the military presence.[67][69]
Border conflict
The glacier's region is the highest battleground on Earth,[70] where Pakistan and India have fought intermittently since April 1984.[71] Both countries maintain a permanent military presence in the region at a height of over 6,000 m (20,000 ft).
Both India and Pakistan have wished to disengage from the costly military outposts. However, after the Pakistani incursions during the Kargil War in 1999, India abandoned plans to withdraw from Siachen without official recognition of the current line of control by Pakistan, wary of further Pakistani incursions if they vacate the Siachen Glacier posts without such recognition.
Prime Minister
Since September 2007, India has opened up limited mountaineering and trekking expeditions to the area. The first group included cadets from Chail Military School, National Defence Academy, National Cadet Corps, Indian Military Academy, Rashtriya Indian Military College and family members of armed forces officers. The expeditions are also meant to show to the international audience that Indian troops hold "almost all dominating heights" on the key Saltoro Ridge and to show that Pakistani troops are nowhere near the Siachen Glacier.[73] Ignoring protests from Pakistan, India maintains that it does not need anyone's approval to send trekkers to Siachen, in what it says is essentially its own territory.[74] In addition, the Indian Army's Army Mountaineering Institute (AMI) functions out of the region.
Peace Park proposal
The idea of declaring the Siachen region a "Peace Park" was presented by environmentalists and peace activists in part to preserve the ecosystem of the region badly affected by the military presence.
Sandia National Laboratories organised conferences where military experts and environmentalists from both India and Pakistan and also from other countries were invited to present joint papers. Kent L. Biringer, a researcher at Cooperative Monitoring Center of Sandia Labs suggested setting up Siachen Science Center, a high-altitude research centre where scientists and researchers from both the countries can carry out research activities[76] related to glaciology, geology, atmospheric sciences and other related fields.[80][81]
In popular culture
The Siachen glacier was mentioned in the 2018 Hollywood movie Mission: Impossible – Fallout starring Tom Cruise and Henry Cavill. In the movie's climax, rogue agent Walker (Cavill) plants nuclear bombs at the base of Siachen glacier. The scene however was actually filmed in Preikestolen, Norway because the Indian government denied the movie makers permission to film in Kashmir.[82]
See also
- Batura Glacier
- Colonel Narendra Kumar
- NJ9842
- Indira Col
- Robert D. Hodgson
- Baltoro Glacier
- Saltoro Kangri
- Sia La
- Bilafond La
- Gyong La
- Actual Ground Position Line
- 2016 Siachen Glacier avalanche
- Siachen Muztagh
Notes
References
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- Fedchenko Glacieris 77 km (48 mi) long. The second longest in the Karakoram Mountains is the Biafo Glacier at 63 km (39 mi). Measurements are from recent imagery, supplemented with Russian 1:200,000 scale topographic mapping as well as the 1990 "Orographic Sketch Map: Karakoram: Sheet 2", Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, Zurich.
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Further reading
- Myra MacDonald (2008) Heights of Madness: One Woman's Journey in Pursuit of a Secret War, Rupa, New Delhi ISBN 8129112922. The first full account of the Siachen war to be told from the Indian and Pakistani sides.
- V. R. Raghavan, Siachen: Conflict Without End, Viking, New Delhi, 2002
- TIME Asia's cover story on Siachen Glacier (July 11, 2005)
- Kunal Verma / Rajiv Williams, The Long Road to Siachen: the Question Why, Rupa & Co., New Delhi, 2010
- Analysis: Peace may return to Siachen – The Washington Times
- Siachen by Arshad H Abbasi
External links
- Video about the Conflict in the Siachen area and its consequences
- Siachen Peace Park Initiative
- Outside magazine article about Siachen battleground
- BBC News report: Nuclear rivals in Siachen talks; 26 May 2005
- Confrontation at Siachen, Bharat Rakshak. Archived 7 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- National Geographic article: Siachen Glacier Tragedy