Union Science and Technology Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, on Monday expressed confidence that Nepal would soon give its approval for a proposed joint scientific expedition to re-measure Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.
The height of Mount Everest was first measured in 1855 by a team led by first Surveyor General of India, George Everest. After that, India re-measured the height in 1956
"A proposal has been sent to Government of Nepal and we are waiting for a response. We hope to get an approval soon", Dr. Vardhan said
In recent times, there have been a clamour for a fresh measurement in the wake of the high magnitude earthquake that devastated Nepal in 2015. While some theorise that the height could have gone up because of the tectonic plate movement, some others are of the view that quake could have caused some damage including at the top resulting in its height coming down.
To resolve the issue, the Government of India had proposed that a scientific expedition be mounted and had urged Nepal Government to join in the venture as Mount Everest is located in Nepal. ``A proposal has been sent to Government of Nepal and we are waiting for a response. We hope to get an approval soon’’, Dr. Vardhan said.
Apart from the scientific expedition that will climb the Everest with GPS and other tools, teams of Survey of India would also make observations from ground. Seven locations have been identified from where Everest is observable. Teams would be stationed there and they would make the observations simultaneously. The data from the peak and the ground would be analysed to come to a correct assessment. (India Science Wire)
