Sukhi, Oct. 13 -- It is a clear October day, high up near the glaciated regions of Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone. But, there is barely a speck of snow on these peaks. They stand bare, with exposed grey rock. Till a few years ago, all these peaks appeared white all year round to residents of Sukhi and surrounding villages (altitude of 2300 m), now snow covers these peaks barely for a month or two. Sukhi, a picturesque village, about 30 km downstream of Gangotri, surrounded by several glaciers and glaciated regions, has been at the frontline of climate crisis. Villagers are concerned about the loss of their common resource--the Himalayan glaciers that feed the Bhagirathi and by monsoon's changing, aggressive character over the mountains. Gobind Singh's family has been bearing witness to all this. "I explored some glaciers in 1973 and 1974 along with a team of mountaineers. At that time the glaciers were very large and stable. They looked like blue rock...Glaciers are in very poor health and some may have disappeared," said Singh (71), pointing to a bare rock faced mountain side. "This used to have ice all year round." His son, Sanjeev Rana (40), is a farmer dependent on agriculture. They have some apple orchards, and grow millets, lentils and potatoes. "We grow the Delicious Royal variety of apples. These have a life of 70-80 years but now they are living only for 25 to 30 years. The harvest quality is deteriorating every year... If it gets any warmer, we will not be able to grow apples," Rana explained....