In News: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has applauded as Capt Shiva Chauhan of Fire and Fury Sappers became the first woman officer to be operationally deployed in Kumar Post, post completion of arduous training, at the highest battlefield of the world Siachen.
The Siachen glacier:
It is the highest battleground on Earth. Troops are deployed at elevations of up to 6,700 metres (22,000 feet) at minus 60 degrees C.
India occupied Siachen glacier under Operation Meghdoot in 1984.
Siachen Glacier, piedmont glacier located in the Karakoram Range.
It lies in the heavily glaciated Himalayan region known as the “Third Pole,” because mountain glaciers in this region contain more fresh water than is found anywhere else on Earth except for the polar ice caps.
The Siachen Glacier lies between the Saltoro Ridge, a subrange of the Karakorams, to the west and the main Karakoram Range to the east.
It is 75 km (47 miles) long, which makes it the second longest nonpolar glacier in the world, after Fedchenko Glacier in Tajikistan.
The Siachen Glacier is positioned from northwest to southeast.
It originates at the base of the Indira Col West, a col (low point) on the Indira Ridge, at an altitude of 6,115 metres (20,062 feet), and it descends to an altitude of 3,570 metres (11,713 feet).
On its left flank are three tributary glaciers: Teram Shehr, North Terong, and South Terong.
On its right flank are tributary glaciers: Zingrulma, Gyongla, Lolofond
Nubra River originates from Siachen glacier.
The name Siachen refers to a land with an abundance of roses.
Significance:
The Siachen region is strategically important for India because it separates Pakistan from China.
It also enables India to monitor the Gilgit and Baltistan regions of Pakistan.
Effects of climate change are being felt as well, as faster-melting snows made living near the ice more hazardous.
In addition, the presence of both countries’ military forces led to the dumping of large quantities of nonbiodegradable waste on and near the glacier, and that waste in turn passed as pollution into the Nubra, Shyok, and Indus rivers.
Moreover, the troops’ presence posed a threat to indigenous wildlife, including the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus), the Siberian, or Asiatic, ibex (Capra sibirica), and the snow leopard (Panthera uncia or Uncia uncia).
