The Himalayan Day, 2022 was celebrated on 13th September 2022 at Assam University, Silchar in the Conference Hall of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science. Every year, the day is celebrated on the 9th of September, but this year, it is a weeklong celebration at more than 400 places across the nation.

At Assam University, Silchar the program started with a welcome speech by Professor Parthankar Choudhury, Dean, E. P. Odum School of Ecology and Environmental Science. In his speech, Prof. Choudhury said that these days, we are facing vagaries of weather, and insecurities of food, water, soil, and water are rising. Security issues of glaciers, forests, rivers, etc. are there for all of which we are dependent on the Himalayas. Therefore, maintaining its pristine nature is very important. Therefore, we all must rethink and reconsider all our plans, policies, and strategies, so that all our developmental activities in the Himalayan region are coherent with the approaches to Sustainability.

This was followed by the speech of Prof. S. K. Tripathy, Mizoram University on ‘Himalayan mountains: As regulator of climate and life support systems.’

Prof. Rajive Mohan Pant, Vice Chancellor of Assam University in his elaborate speech mentioned that he has spent the early part of his life traveling along the east, west, and central parts of the Himalayas. To him, Himalaya is a celebrity, Himalaya is robust, Himalaya is great. king of all the mountains. While quoting Tenzing Norgay, he added that Norgay climbed seven times Mt. Everest, not with an intention to conquer but to be in the lapse of mother nature. This pristinely is in a state of fast decline, to which Prof. Pant said that we all shall have to take care of nature, and if we do not do that, days are not far away, that she will start to revolt!

The presentation sent by Dr. G. S. Rawat, former Dean, and Director, Wildlife Institute of India, entitled ‘Conservation and sustainable use of Biodiversity for human wellbeing in the Indian Himalayan Region was elaborately explained by his scholar Prof. Aparajita De, who is a faculty in the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar.

The last presentation was given using a virtual platform by Er. Kireet Kumar, Director (i/c) and Nodal Officer, NMHS of the G. B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, Uttarakhand. He spoke on, ‘Water Sanctuary Development for water security in the Himalayan villages.

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The program ended with a vote of thanks by Prof. Ajit Kumar Das, Head, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University. The program was compared by two master’s students of the department, Avantika Pradhan and Debopriya Sarkar. 

The day was first celebrated on September 09, 2015, by Harish Rawat, the then CM of Uttarakhand to recognize the immense contribution of the Himalayan mountain range to maintaining a healthy environment.

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