SRINAGAR, Oct. 14 -- Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh on Tuesday called for development in Jammu and Kashmir's Himalayan region to be guided by ecological safeguards, highlighting glacier monitoring in Ladakh and Doda, climate research initiatives and the need for a sustainable mountain development policy tailored to the region's vulnerabilities.

Addressing a special session of the 13th All India Sustainable Mountain Development Summit at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Shalimar, Singh said protecting the Himalayas was a national responsibility, given their role in sustaining water sources, ecosystems and livelihoods.

He said the...