Leh: At a time when the people of Ladakh are fighting for statehood and special status under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to prevent outsiders from changing the cultural and geographical dynamics of the Union Territory, its new Lieutenant Governor Mr Vinai Kumar Saxena says all development work will be undertaken with the consultation of the people of the UT.
“There is no issue that cannot be resolved through talks” the LG said adding that he is focusing on improving infrastructure, employment, water situation and delivery of governance at the doorsteps of people living in the remote areas of the UT. The LG said the creation of five new districts in the UT is a step in this direction.
The LG is undertaking “Project Himsarovar” under which 50 artificial ponds are being created to address water scarcity. He has also tried to plant bamboo, neem, peepal trees in Leh to see if these can survive the harshness of weather at such an altitude.
“I aspire to make Ladakh the hub of eco-spiritual tourism and I feel I will succeed in doing that. Arrival of holy relics of Buddha in Leh has strengthened that resolve. There is a huge scope to promote tourism and handicrafts of the UT. Several things here are untouched, unexplored and unexperimented,” said Mr Saxena during a media interaction on the sidelines of the inauguration of exposition of holy relics of Buddha in Leh,
In this regard he said water scarcity and lack of greenery is a big concern. The LG said that Union Home Minister Mr Amit Shah also feels these areas need special focus of the central government. Mr Saxena has, on an experiment basis got saplings of gulmohar, bamboo, neem, peepal etc planted along the roadside near a cantonment in Leh. However, this reporter found that due to lack of water and conducive weather, these saplings had withered away. A local official said since Ladakh is a cold desert, plants of the plains cannot survive here.
However, Mr Saxena has not lost hope. He has initiated a pilot project to tap underground water and melting snow to create ponds. “So far 50 ponds have been made in consultation with the villagers. The focus is to tap melting glacier water as we have been unable to utilize even one per cent of this water and it goes to another country,” the LG said while indicating towards downstream water flow towards Pakistan. In this regard support from Indian Army, Indo Tibetan Border Force and Border Road Organisation is being taken. Already two ponds are ready, the LG said. “Ladakh green cover is 0.4%. We want to increase that to 5%. Water will improve agriculture and greenery and help the villagers,” Mr Saxena said.
Short season crops like wheat, buckwheat, barley, apricots, apple, and willow and popler trees are part of Ladkah’s lifeline grown in valley areas.
The LG is also planning to develop the “Valley of Flowers” on the lines of Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand, at two places in Ladakh to boost tourism and improve ecological balance. These will be in Choglamsar and Wari La in Leh. Various variety of flowers that can withstand the harsh weather and low oxygen are being identified to be brought here and some plantation activities have already started.
“By the end of June, or so, the two locations are expected to transform into vibrant floral zones, becoming major attractions for tourists visiting Leh and other parts of Ladakh,” he said adding the move will help generate local employment and promote ecotourism, while adding aesthetic value to the cold desert landscape.
In a bid to check uncontrolled construction of hotels and homestays in Leh for tourists, the LG said the UT government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) in Delhi to prepare a masterplan for Leh, which should be ready in next three months. “We need to maintain local architecture and way of living and prevent haphazard construction,” the LG said.
He added that for tourism the UT government is in talks with local with regard to construction of luxury hotels. There is a major resistance from locals on entry of “outsiders” in any sector be it power or tourism. “The quality of homestays have to be improved while retaining local cuisines, architecture and way of living,” Mr Saxena added.
The LG is personally supervising the construction of the 13.153 km Zozila Tunnel on Ladakh side that will lead to all weather connectivity and reduce travel time between Leh and Srinagar. The tunnel is expected to be fully operation by next year.
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