Siachen open for tourists

Security Issues Border issues

25-Oct-19

Context-Recently Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has announced that Siachen region is now accessible to tourists.

From Siachen Base Camp to Kumar Post, the entire area has been opened for tourism purposes," Rajnath Singh said.
From 2007 to 2016, the glacier was open to an annual expedition with civilians. The vetting process applied till then will be applied now as well.
The army will do a background check of all prospective tourists, evaluate their medical condition and then decide who is fit enough to deal with the extremities of the glacier. Like in the case of Mount Everest, permits could be given out to private tour groups and mountaineers.

Journey from Siachen Base camp to Kumar Post

The Kumar Post is at height of more than 15,000 ft. Tourists will be able to travel from the base camp at Partapur at 11,000 feet to the Kumar Post.
Sources said tourists will be given a permit to travel to these areas.
This means other than the annual expedition organised by the Army from the base camp to Kumar Post, tourists will be able to travel independently

Benfits

Allowing tourists to visit the area will be an eyeopener to citizens on the extent to which the Indian nation goes to safeguard its borders from hostile neighbours. From keeping their bodies warm, heating food, avoiding frostbite and countless other health conditions and obstacles to performing daily routines, Siachen is soldiering’s ultimate frontier.
For Ladakh which has recently been hived out of Jammu & Kashmir, this is a potential boost to revenue earnings.
Additionally, it also sends down the message to Pakistan that Siachen is like any other part of India and open to its citizens. Waste disposal and keeping Siachen litter free has been a challenge that the Army has taken up, and tourism must aim to uphold this principle.
Opening up treacherous battlefields like Siachen would give civilians a better appreciation of how soldiers live and work. National integration is a stated aim as well.
Tourism is often used as a tool to reinforce territorial claim. It is something Pakistan tried as well in the 1970s and 80s by regularly allowing mountaineering expeditions to the glacial wasteland. All that stopped after the Indian Army launched Operation Meghdoot in 1984 and occupied strategic heights at the glacier. Since then, India and Pakistan have been frozen in their positions and lost more than 2,500 men not to enemy bullets but to sub-degree temperatures and avalanches.
The Indian army spends Rs 6 crore a day to maintain Siachen, a place where temperatures dip to minus 60 degrees in the winter. So if you are imagining ski resorts, that may not happen. But a selfie at Siachen is very much possible.

Concerns

But there are ecological and security concerns being raised as well.
Siachen is already reeling under heavy military presence. The thermal footprint of soldiers deployed is causing the snout of the glacier to melt.
Then there is the issue of garbage. It has taken the army 1.5 years to clean up Siachen and remove 130 tonnes of waste from the snowy heights. The army generates 236 tonnes of waste every year and more people will mean more waste.

Siachin glacier

Siachen Glacier lies in Northern Ladakh in the Karakorams, a mountain range originating from the Pamirs. The total area of Siachen Glacier is approximately 78 km.
The world’s coldest and highest battlefield is an area of immense contention between India and Pakistan on the issue of demarcation of the actual ground position line. Siachen keeps taking a toll on soldiers even without hostilities or exchange of fire, because of the inhospitable weather and treacherous terrain.
Most of the Siachen Glacier as is the LoC, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan. The area of "Aksai Chin" is also located in this area.
It is very important for India to deploy its troops in this area to monitor the activities of the Pakistan and China in this area. Prior to 1984 neither India nor Pakistan had any permanent presence in the area.

Reason for the dispute

In the Shimla Agreement of 1972, the Siachen area was termed as barren and useless. But this agreement did not determine the boundary between India and Pakistan. India got intelligence in 1984 that Pakistan has ordered to prepare some “hot suit” to a European company to capture the area of Siachen Glacier. But before the consignment of Pakistan suit taken place; India got ready these “hot suits” and deployed its troops on “Bilafond La Pass”.
India launched Operation Meghdoot (named after the divine cloud messenger in a Sanskrit play of Kalidasa) on 13 April 1984 when the “Kumaon Regiment” of the Indian Army and the “Indian Air Force” went into the Glacier
It is worth to mention here that if the Pakistan army got their suit ready first, then the Pakistan army would have reached at this place before India.
The Pakistan army also tried to climb this place on April 25, 1984 but had to return due to poor weather conditions and inadequate preparations. Finally, on June 25, 1987, Pakistan achieved success in creating a post called “Quaid Post” at an altitude of 21 thousand feet, because the Indian army had finished all its ammunition.
Since India's army had reached this place first that is why our army is sitting at higher altitude and Pakistan army is sitting at lower altitude; hence Indian army is in commanding position in this region.
In 2003, there was an armistice treaty signed between India and Pakistan. Since then firing and bombardment has ceased in this area but the army of both nations is stationed here. India has deployed around 10000 soldiers in the Siachen Glacier whose total cost is around Rs. 5 crore per day.

Interesting Facts about cold in the Siachen Glacier;

The soldiers in Siachen region are appointed at around 18,000 to 23,000 feet above the sea level. The temperature falls below up to minus 55 degrees celsius because there are approximately 22 Glaciers in this area.
The situation in Siachen Glacier is so severe that soldiers don’t get sufficient oxygen essential for their survival. Here the soldiers have to walk in the snow till the knees. A healthy soldier can also walks a few steps only due to extreme weather conditions.
In Siachen Glacier; rifles are thawed frozen and machine guns primed with boiling water. Soldiers are bound to suffer from hypothermia, frostbite and chilblains. The soldier's own sweat can become his enemy as it converts into ice in his gloves and shoes and frostbite increases the severity of the soldiers.
In the Siachen Glacier; the soldiers need to have food of more than 4000-5000 calories per day but they don’t get it. Inadequate food availability reduces the weight of the soldiers between 5 to 10 kg in 3 to 4 months. The special food of these soldiers is prepared by the scientists of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
To get the drinking water the soldiers need to melt the ice on the stove but in the absence of adequate fuel the availability of the safe drinking water is also a challenge for them.
One surprising fact is that the main reason behind the death of the soldiers is not the fight between the India and Pakistan but it is extreme weather conditions. According to an estimate, so far 2500 soldiers of both countries have lost their lives here without any gun battle.