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Govt merges Centre for Glaciology with Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology
The Centre for Glaciology was set up in 2009 during the UPA regime in the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology which was appointed as its nodal agency. It had aimed to carry a coordinated research initiative on Himalayan glaciology to understand the effects of climate on glaciers in order to develop strategies for climate change adaptability.
The department of science and technology (DST) under Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences has decided to discontinue the project of Centre for Glaciology (CFG) in Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) in Dehradun, officials said.
The decision was communicated with the WIHG officials in a letter dated June 25 which was received in July. Under the letter, the DST also mentioned that CFG to be merged with WIHG from July 1 and all its activities to be managed by the existing staff of WIHG. The letter also asked WIHG to relieve all the staff involved in the project from July 1. HT has a copy of the letter.
The Centre for Glaciology was set up in 2009 during the UPA regime in WIHG, which was appointed as its nodal agency. It had aimed to carry a coordinated research initiative on Himalayan glaciology to understand the effects of climate on glaciers in order to develop strategies for climate change adaptability.
The Centre for Glaciology was also assigned to carry programmes in setting up a specialised institute on glaciology named Indian Institute of Glaciology in Mussoorie. The then government had planned a fund of about ₹500 crore to develop the institute of which about ₹23 crore was released.
Confirming the development, director WIHG, Kalachand Sain, said, “We were asked to discontinue the project in a written communication from the DST. It has asked us to carry all its activities in WIHG and relieve the non-permanent staff involved in the project.”
Sain, however, said that the ‘research on glaciology will not be stopped’ as they will continue in WIHG.
“The move doesn’t mean that scientific researches on glaciology will stop. Apart from the Centre, researches were also being done in WIHG which will continue and the researches done in the project will now be done in our institute,” said Sain.
The director also said that the project which was started in 2009 was initially for about 4-5 years after which it was extended every year.
“As in the case of other scientific research projects, this was being extended every year on our request as the desired output was received. This has now stopped with the Centre’s letter on which we cannot comment anything as it is purely the prerogative of DST,” said Sain.
The experts, however, feel that the move will affect the studies on Himalayan glaciers in the country, because the Centre would have been the first such institute in the whole country.
Dr BR Arora, former director of WIHG who was involved with the CFG project from the starting said, “Discontinuing it will surely affect the glaciology research. It will slow down glacial researches, as it was a completely scientific project to study the dynamics of glaciers which were not known yet.”
Arora said the major implication will be the loss of trained manpower for glaciology study.
“When the project was started, we at WIHG were tasked to train manpower to study glaciology as it is not being taught in the country anywhere. The trained manpower was to be then deployed in the glaciology institute to be set up in Mussoorie for which land was also earmarked. We trained about 7-8 people for the institute since last 6-7 years who will now be lost as the project itself is discontinued. Loss of trained human resource will be the biggest implication of this move,” said Arora.
He said that till the project was continued, there were many significant studies being done under him.
“We all say that the Himalayan glaciers are melting but nobody exactly knew why they are melting. Whether it’s all because of only global warming or any other man-made factors also? Under the CFG project we were studying all this. We had also studied the difference between North facing glaciers and South facing glaciers and the reason of their melting accordingly,” he said.
He also said that there were plans to invite foreign scientists working on glaciology to the Centre in Mussoorie.
“There was plan to send our trained researchers for training to countries like China, Norway and Switzerland which have expertise in studying glaciers and ice-scoring in which frozen gas particles in glacial ice are being studied to analyse the climatic conditions in earlier years and ages. There was also a plan to invite the researchers from there to help is develop laboratories in the centre in Mussoorie under the project,” said Arora.
“I hope there will be a solution to be brought up at WIHG after this recent move to compensate the loss in glacial research. But the loss of trained manpower couldn’t be compensated as this study needs in-depth knowledge and expertise which comes after years of training,” he said.
