New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS): On the eve of the 11th Himalayan Day, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Tuesday emphasised the need to conserve and protect the mountain range.

He said that the 11th Himalayan Day will be observed with the theme of 'Himalayas and Nature' on September 9.

The Minister said that he felt that saving the nature in its original state was the responsibility of the whole mankind.

"We will get together on the Himalayan Day, keeping this in mind. Every person who hails from the Himalayas realises that if we tinker with the environment in the mountains, the nature will not forgive us.

"We ought to focus on the need for community participation vis-à-vis the developmental process and write a new chapter in this direction."

Pokhriyal pointed out that the Himalayas was a world heritage and as many as 130 crore people directly or indirectly depended on the mountain range for survival.

He appealed to all people to save the Himalayas, which was not only the responsibility of those living in the mountain range but everyone.

Those participating in the Himalayan Day will be administered the oath to protect the mountain range.

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Union Ministers Jitendra Singh, Kiran Rijiju, and Anurag Thakur, Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, and Padma Bhushan awardee Dr Anil Joshi will be among the dignitaries likely to participate in the celebrations.

The Himalaya Day has been celebrated since 2010. But after the flash floods in Kedarnath in Uttarakhand in 2013, an official announcement on celebrating the day on September 9 every year was made.

In 2019, the Himalaya Day was celebrated in Mussorrie, in which 11 Himalayan states had participated.