Category: Ladakh

Ladakh

IAF to vacate Leh airbase for civilian airport

Editor

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has agreed to vacate the airbase at Leh district which will be used for expansion of the civilian airport by the Jammu and Kashmir government. This was stated at a meeting held by the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Asgar Hassan Samoon, with the officials of IAF, Airport Authority of India Limited (AII) and civil administration at his office here on Thursday, an official spokesman said. Samoon was informed that the state government has identified land in lieu of the existing IAF airbase in Leh. Similarly, the…

Read More

10 Army soldiers missing in Siachen avalanche

Editor

At least 10 Army jawans are missing after an avalanche hit Siachen’s northern glacier in Jammu and Kashmir. The soldiers were hit as they patrolled a glacier at an altitude of 5,800 metres (19,000 feet), Colonel S D Goswami said. “In the early hours of today, 10 soldiers were hit by an avalanche at the northern Siachen Glacier while on patrol,” Goswami said. Rescuers from the Army and Air Force have been deployed to search for them, he added. Avalanches and landslides are common in the area during the winter…

Read More

Leh airport expansion caught in admn tangle

Editor

IAF seeks alternative land before vacating 11.8 acre identified for project The expansion of strategically-important Leh airport, one of the world’s highest airfields, has failed to clear administrative hurdles, with the Indian Air Force (IAF) insisting on alternative land before vacating the area identified for the project. The expansion of the Leh airport, located 10,683 feet above the sea level, includes construction of new terminal building to cater to peak-hour passenger rush and creation of new parking bays. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has requisitioned 11.8 acre of land…

Read More

Valley remains in grip of cold, Leh coldest at minus 13.0 degrees Celsius

Editor

Cold wave conditions remained unabated as the night temperature across Kashmir division of Jammu and Kashmir continued to stay below the freezing point with weatherman forecasting the dry spell to continue this week as well. Leh in frontier Ladakh region, 434 kms from here, continued to be the coldest recorded place in the state with minus 13.0 degrees Celsius – marking an improvement of over one degree compared to previous night’s minus 14.4, a spokesperson of MeT here said. Neighbouring Kargil town was the second coldest recorded place with a low of minus…

Read More

KREDA using renewable energy sources to reduce carbon emission in Kargil

Editor

From the last many years Ladakh has been witnessing untimely rain, snowfall and flash-flood. According to experts this is the effect global warming and in the next 30 to 40 years Ladakh will be facing acute water shortage. Although government is trying its best to conserve environment in Ladakh region, in Kargil, KREDA has also been working from the last many years to devise ways to do away with the dependence on diesel generators to save environment. They are busy in devising ways to provide energy through renewable sources which…

Read More

Poor connectivity, expensive air travel hit Ladakh tourism

Editor

Poor road connectivity and expensive air travel continue to keep tourists away from the land ofhigh passes — Ladakh, as the number of both domestic and foreign visitors to the region recorded a decline in 2015 compared to the year 2014. Apart from this, the logistical challenges being faced by the tourism industry in Ladakh (Leh and Kargil districts) are quite contrary to the state government’s much-touted claims. The dwindling number of tourists would directly hit the economy of the region. “A total of 2,14,413 tourists, including 32,562 foreigners, visited…

Read More

Four jawans of Ladakh Scouts killed in Siachen avalanche

Editor

Four soldiers were killed in an avalanche in Siachen Glacier of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday morning, a defence official said. “An avalanche has killed four jawans of Ladakh Scouts in Siachen Glacier area,” a defence official told IANS. “The incident occurred around 8.30 a.m. yesterday (on Sunday). The names of the deceased are Havaldar Tsewang Nurbu, Havaldar Dorjay Gyaltsan, Rifleman Muhammad Yusuf and rifleman Jigmaid Chosdup,” said the official, adding that they were on the Southern Glacier on patrol duty when they were buried in the avalanche. The bodies…

Read More

IRB Infra to construct Rs 10,050-cr Zojila tunnel

Editor

Project to ensure all-year connectivity to Ladakh In a major push to provide all-weather road connectivity to the isolated Ladakh region, IRB Infrastructure Developers has been entrusted with the task of constructing Rs 10,050-crore Zojila tunnel on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway in Jammu and Kashmir. The company has received a letter of award (LoA) from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, headed by Nitin Gadkari, for the construction, operation and maintenance of the longest tunnel in South-East Asia, Zojilla tunnel, in Jammu and Kashmir, IRB Infrastructure Developers said in a…

Read More

Government committed to inclusive growth of Ladakh, says Deputy CM

Editor

Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh today said the government was committed to the comprehensive development of Ladakh so that the people of the desert region get all modern housing and educational facilities and other related amenities. The Deputy Chief Minister was speaking at a function organised today by the All Ladakh Students Association of Jammu in connection with Lossar. Minister of State for Information, Education and Culture Priya Sethi, Councillor from the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, Drokpa Thukse Rinpoche and several prominent citizens, intellectuals and academia were present…

Read More

Leh council turns to RSS for UT demand

Editor

The newly elected Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, has sought help from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to intensify its stir for union territory (UT) status to Ladakh as BJP leaders are hesitating to openly support of its long-pending demand. Realising the importance of the RSS, the LAHDC has decided to approach its leaders to get long-pending issues addressed through direct intervention of the Centre. During their first visit to Jammu after the landslide victory of the BJP in the cold desert, the LAHDC delegation headed by Chief…

Read More