India to officially delineate its plans to ATCM for construction of Antarctic research unit

Later this month, at the annual conference in Kochi, India will formally instate the governing authority of Antarctica of its ambitions to establish a new research outpost in the frozen continent. Countries conducting research in the southern polar region will present the results of their studies and their future plans at the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the 26th Meeting of the Committee for Environment Protection.

“This year, we are going to inform the ATCM that we are planning to go for a revamp of our research station Maitri. Revamp means, Maitri is very old, we have to re-construct,” M Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, mentioned in conversation with PTI Editors in India.

In Antarctica, India has two operational research stations, Maitri and Bharti. After sinking in the snow, the first research station, Dakshin Gangotri, had to be abandoned in 1983. Built around 35 years ago, Maitri is regarded by scientists as a village, but the 12-year-old Bharti is a state-of-the-art establishment with all the amenities of a five-star hotel, minus the ornate personnel.

“The problem is that tourism in Antarctica is not properly regulated, so this year there is a discussion of the regulation of that,” he stated.