The rate at which forests are disappearing on the Himalayan range is so rapid that this flourishing mountain chain could be reduced to a stark, denuded landscape by the first half of the next century. The Kulu valley, once bedecked by deodars, some 150 feet in height and 10 feet or more in girth, has almost been stripped bare. Much of central and western India, formerly criss-crossed by flowing rivers and lakes, bears an eerie resemblance to a lunar landscape. And Cherapunji, the wettest spot on earth, where dense subtropical forests once stood sentinel, is today gaunt and scarred. Does this... Show more The rate at which forests are disappearing on the Himalayan range is so rapid that this flourishing mountain chain could be reduced to a stark, denuded landscape by the first half of the next century. The Kulu valley, once bedecked by deodars, some 150 feet in height and 10 feet or more in girth, has almost been stripped bare. Much of central and western India, formerly criss-crossed by flowing rivers and lakes, bears an eerie resemblance to a lunar landscape. And Cherapunji, the wettest spot on earth, where dense subtropical forests once stood sentinel, is today gaunt and scarred. Does this sound like a nightmare ? Indeed, one wishes it were so! Un-fortunately, the truth is that 6 million hectares of agricultural land in the world is being lost each year to the desert and another 21 million hectares is reduced to a state of near complete uselessness, threatening the livelihoods of 1.2 billion people worldwide. Right now in India itself, 53 percent of the total land area is heading towards devastation. The implications are horrifying. The main reason behind this ugly disfigurement of fertile land is not poor rainfall but human error. In the name of progress, trees have been cut down for housing, for heating and cooking, to produce paper, and to make way for more agricultural land. Vast tracts of thick luxuriant forests have been destroyed, together with their root systems which hold the soil together and retain, its precious moisture. In the rainy season, water spills down the slopes as there are no roots left in the soil to absorb it. It washes away tonnes of fertile topsoil. The rivers turn muddy and the level of their beds rise, creating floods which cause destruction of property and human life. It is the erosion of Himalayan topsoil that is creating a new island in the Bay of Bengal ! (322 words) Read the statements given below and tick the correct options. Show less
The rate at which forests are disappearing on the Himalayan range is so rapid that this flourishing mountain chain could be reduced to a stark, denuded landscape by the first half of the next century. The Kulu valley, once bedecked by deodars, some 150 feet in height and 10 feet or more in girth, has almost been stripped bare. Much of central and western India, formerly criss-crossed by flowing rivers and lakes, bears an eerie resemblance to a lunar landscape. And Cherapunji, the wettest spot on earth, where dense subtropical forests once stood sentinel, is today gaunt and scarred. Does this sound like a nightmare ? Indeed, one wishes it were so! Un-fortunately, the truth is that 6 million hectares of agricultural land in the world is being lost each year to the desert and another 21 million hectares is reduced to a state of near complete uselessness, threatening the livelihoods of 1.2 billion people worldwide. Right now in India itself, 53 percent of the total land area is heading towards devastation. The implications are horrifying. The main reason behind this ugly disfigurement of fertile land is not poor rainfall but human error. In the name of progress, trees have been cut down for housing, for heating and cooking, to produce paper, and to make way for more agricultural land. Vast tracts of thick luxuriant forests have been destroyed, together with their root systems which hold the soil together and retain, its precious moisture. In the rainy season, water spills down the slopes as there are no roots left in the soil to absorb it. It washes away tonnes of fertile topsoil. The rivers turn muddy and the level of their beds rise, creating floods which cause destruction of property and human life. It is the erosion of Himalayan topsoil that is creating a new island in the Bay of Bengal ! (322 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct options.
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