IndiaPosted at: Sep 18 2026 4:01PM


Panel for Himalayan authority, early-warning network to tackle rising disasters

New Delhi, Sep 18 (UNI) A coalition of 134 organisations working in the Himalayan region has called for a dedicated Himalayan authority at the Centre and a scientific early-warning network to deal with cloudbursts, landslides, floods and glacier-related hazards.
The Himalay Unnati Mission (HUM) made the demand and said it will undertake a scientific study across India, Nepal, and Bhutan to strengthen disaster preparedness.
The coalition said the study will bring together scientists, ecologists, disaster management experts and grassroots organisations to prepare hazard maps, improve monitoring systems and develop community-level preparedness plans. It said it will seek cooperation from the central government and Himalayan states.
Proposing a central institutional mechanism, the group said disasters in the Himalayas do not follow administrative boundaries.
"A region without an administrative boundary for disasters needs a coordinated response. For the Indian Himalayan Region, sustainable development requires integrated planning, bringing scientists, planners, policymakers and local communities together," said Dr Eklabya Sharma, advisor to the Mission and former Deputy Director General of ICIMOD.
HUM said the proposed study will build on work undertaken in the last five years across 13 Himalayan states and union Territories.
The coalition claimed that under its Mission Green Himalayas programme, over 22 lakh trees have been planted across more than 20 landscapes in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, North Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
It also said it has installed 613 solar microgrids in 356 border schools, benefiting over 1.95 lakh people, and that over 1,000 volunteers supported 7,248 families during floods and landslides under its relief initiative.
The Mission is led by The Art of Living's Rural Development Trust along with the International Association for Human Values (IAHV), the coalition said.
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Tags: #Panel for Himalayan authority# early-warning network to tackle rising disasters
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