Jyotsna Sitling and the Valley of Flowers

[srij]

People going to the Valley of Flowers would have noticed the admirable efforts of the Eco-Development Committee (EDC), Bhyundar. Under its banner, the villagers of Pulna and Bhyundar (3 kms and 9 kms from Govind Ghat on the way to Ghangaria) work hard to keep the entire area clean, and to maintain the trails. The EDC also runs the Valley of Flowers Information Centre next to the GMVN hotel in Ghangaria, where one can see a slide show on the Valley, and buy souvenirs.

The EDC was apparently started by Jyotsna Sitling, an officer of the Indian Forest Service (IFS), who was the Director of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve from 2001 to 2004. Under her direction, the EDC cleared huge mounds of garbage dumped by pilgrims to Hemkund. Also involved in this work was A. K. Banerjee, another IFS person who was the Divisional Forest Officer, Joshimath from 2002 to 2004. Here are some articles that I found interesting:

India's environmental crusader: "I was born into the `Lepcha' tribal community of Kalimpong in West Bengal, a region bordering Tibet." (Interview of Jyotsna Sitling by Neeta Lal, Guardian Weekly, 1 August 2007.)

This IFS officer saved a national park: Jyotsna Sitling is the proud recipient of this year's prestigious Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar, the country's highest environmental honour. (Article of 12 July 2007 by Neeta Lal at India Together.)

And the award goes to...: Jyotsna Sitling and A.K. Banerjee receive the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in public administration for 2006-2007. (Article of 30 April 2008 by Anjali Nauriyal in Doon Plus.)

Since 2004, Jyotsna Sitling has been the Project Director of the Livelihoods Improvement Project for the Himalayas, Uttarakhand (ULIPH).

Raghu.


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