Important Facts For Prelims
Siachen Glacier
- 25 Sep 2019
- 2 min read
Since January 2018, nearly 130 tonnes of waste has been brought down from the Siachen Glacier and disposed of.
- The Army has made bringing down waste a part of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for troops under the concept of waste management because in the high altitude areas of 18,000 to 21,000 feet nothing degrades at sub-zero temperatures.
- The entire Siachen Glacier, with all major passes, is currently under the administration of India since 1984 (Operation Meghdoot).
- The Siachen Glacier is located in the Eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas, just northeast of Point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends.
- It is the Second-Longest glacier in the World's Non-Polar areas.
- The Siachen Glacier lies immediately south of the great drainage divide that separates the Eurasian Plate from the Indian subcontinent in the extensively glaciated portion of the Karakoram sometimes called the "Third Pole".
- The Siachen Glacier is part of Ladakh which has now been converted into a Union Territory.
- The Siachen Glacier is the world's highest battlefield.
Operation Meghdoot
- It was launched on 13 April 1984, this military operation was the first assault launched in the highest battlefield in the world.
- The military action resulted in Indian troops gaining control of the entire Siachen Glacier.
