Mustang folks urge PM Prachanda to minimize damage caused by climate change

Kaski, Oct 18: The local residents of Mustang district have demanded Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' to put in place a new programme to reduce the adverse effects of climate change.     

At an interaction programme organized by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in Jomsom, the district headquarters of Mustang, today, they requested PM Prachanda for the same in view of the damages to human and material goods incurred by climate change.     

Chandra Bahadur Thakali, one of the local residents, shared that they drew the attention of the PM towards climate action. "Our district is the hardest hit when it comes to climate change. The temperature is increasing here. The glaciers are melting alarmingly due to which people in Upper Mustang are displaced."     

Thakali further bemoaned that the problems of pests and insects were increasing in the crops here such as apples and other produce due to climate change. He explained, "The snowfall that ought to occur during January or February occurs in March and April which is detrimental for the crops such as apple farming."     

According to him, the number of domestic animals was decreasing in Mustang lately.

Similarly, Baragung Muktichhetra rural municipality Chairperson Rinjing Jamgel Gurung said that the unseasonable snowfall and rainfall had caused damages in the rural municipality. "It rained continuously for a week last year during the Dashain festival which hugely damaged crops."     

Also, he said that the flood in Kagakhola this monsoon caused a great loss of properties in the Kagbeni area. The federal government should pay due attention to minimizing the damages caused by climate change, he viewed.     

Likewise, Province Assembly member Bikal Sherchan called for environmental developmental endeavours. He emphasized collaboration among the three-tier government for climate action such as reduction of fuel consumption, conservation of biodiversity and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions among others so as to reduce the risk of climate change-induced disasters. (RSS)