Governor N.N. Vohra, attended the inaugural session of 3 day “37th General Zorawar Singh Indian Geography Congress”, here at the Jammu University today. This Conference has been organized by the Department of Geography, University of Jammu, under the aegis of the “National Association of Geographers, India”, on the theme of “Tourism, Resources, Environment and Development using GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques”. More than 600 delegates are participating in the various sessions, memorial lectures and panel discussions. As planned, the discussions shall focus on identified sub-themes: (i) Glaciers and Climate Change; (ii) Growing Tourism and its impact on State Economics; (iii) Urbanization and Fringe Area Development; (iv) Management of Wetlands through Geo-spatial Techniques; (v) Natural Hazard Management and Environmental Changes;(vi)Resource-Depletion and Conservation; and (vii) Agriculture, Population, Gender and Health.
The Governor complimented the Vice-Chancellor Jammu University and the Department of Geography for hosting this significant Congress and termed it an important occasion for the scientific community.Stressing the importance of the theme of the Congress, the Governor observed that all inter-related aspects should need to be discussed to evolve a meaningful relationship between resource development and ecological balance. He emphasized the high importance of the required steps being taken for ensuring a balanced environment through most carefully worked out master plans of all available lands.
The Governor observed that tourism is one of the major thrust areas in the State which possess enchanting scenic beauty and wonderful natural resources, lakes and rivers, with enormous potential for developing adventure, cultural, mountain and pilgrimage tourism. He stressed the need for urgently devising strategies for ensuring sustainable growth of this sector.
The Governor observed that rising temperatures and non-traditional climatic changes across the globe is one of the most serious fallouts of the phenomenon of global warming and its consequences have started becoming visible in the form of receding glaciers, floods and other disasters. Quoting the example of last year’s devastating floods in the State, the Governor said that the consequences of climate change are already posing serious challenges for the people and the governments. The Governor stressed the need for optimally utilizing all intellectual and scientific resources available within the Universities and major scientific institutions for establishing meaningful inter-institutional linkages to effectively tackle varied global and local problems. He mentioned the efforts underway for establishing first ever Himalayan Ice Core Lab at Kashmir University with the purpose of studying information hidden in ice cores of Himalayan glaciers and observed that such an advanced laboratory will play a beneficial role in understanding and combating climatic changes in the Himalayas.
The Governor appreciated the approach of the Congress to discuss all the sub-themes of the Congress by using Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing techniques through satellite imageries. He hoped that, at the end of deliberations at this Conference, some practical recommendations will be made on how to deal with the emerging challenges. He wished all the participants useful and profitable discussions.The inaugural session was addressed by Prof. P. Nag, Vice- Chancellor, Kaashi Hindu Vidhyapeeth; Prof. S.C Rai, Secretary General, National Association of Geographers of India; Prof. H.N. Mishra, former President of National Geographers Association of India; Prof. V.K. Srivastava, President (elect) National Geographers Association of India; Prof. M.H. Qureshi, former Professor of Geography JNU; Prof. Talat Ahmad, Vice- Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; and Prof. R.D. Sharma, Vice- Chancellor, University of Jammu.On the occasion, Prof. M.H. Qureshi, former Professor of Geography JNU was presented with Life Time Achievement Award for his contributions in the field of Geography. The Welcome Address was delivered by Prof. V.S. Manhas, Convenor of the Congress, while a Vote of Thanks was presented by Dr. Anuradha Sharma, HoD Geography and Organizing Secretary of the Congress.