Leh, Sept 01: A number of delegations called on the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (DR) BD Mishra (Retd) at the Lieutenant Governor’s Secretariat over the weekend and briefed him of their issues.
A delegation comprising members of All Ladakh Tour Operators Association (ALTOA) led by its President, Tsewang Dorjey, thanked the UT Administration on behalf of ALTOA for preparing the draft Tourism Policy for UT Ladakh.
He also requested the LG for his intervention in providing financial assistance to ALTOA for its participation in upcoming travel fairs such as ITB Asia 2024 in Singapore in October, OTM Mumbai in Jan-Feb 2025, South Asia’s Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) in Feb 2025 and ITB Berlin in March 2025; facilitate coordination with stakeholders to present a unified Ladakh Tourism brand and share relevant data, research and insights to help in understanding tourist preferences and trends.
The LG suggested the members of ALTOA to approach top travel agents/tourism agencies based in different states/UTs to promote Ladakh tourism to increase the footfall of tourists in Ladakh. He also shared the plan to approach the embassies of various countries and meet the ambassadors of different countries so that Ladakh tourism can be promoted globally. He also highlighted the need to regulate the footfall of tourists in Ladakh to avoid tourism saturation.
A delegation from Khaltse led by its Nambardar, Stanzin Phurboo, called on the Lieutenant Governor.
Advisor to the LG, Dr Pawan Kotwal, IAS; Commissioner/Secretary to the LG, L Franklin, IAS and Superintending Engineer, Irrigation & Flood Control, Mohd Abbas were also present in the meeting.
Phurboo apprised the LG of the incomplete construction of the Patsathang canal, which was initiated around 12 years ago, from Wanla to Khaltsi for irrigation purposes and requested the LG for its early completion along with sanctioning solar lift pumps to irrigate their agricultural fields till the construction of the Patsathang irrigation canal is complete.
The LG asked the Superintending Engineer, I&FC, Mohd Abbas to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Patsathang Canal at the earliest so that the work can be started for the benefit of the people of Khaltsi. He also asked Abbas to complete the work on the solar lift pumps immediately on a priority basis to provide immediate relief to the villagers.
Zubair Ahmad, who is working as a Technical Consultant with Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) at Leh, called on the LG at the LG Secretariat. Advisor to the LG, Dr Pawan Kotwal, IAS; Commissioner/Secretary to the LG, L Franklin, IAS and Tehsildar, Leh, Ataullah were present in the meeting.
Zubair informed the LG about the issue faced by CSIR in developing infrastructure on the 56 kanal land at Palam which was provided to CSIR by the Agriculture Department following a Memorandum of Understanding between CSIR and Agriculture Department. He also informed the LG about his meeting with the Chairman/CEC of LAHDC Leh for the allotment paper of the land so that infrastructure development work could be initiated.
Advisor to the LG, Dr Pawan Kotwal, IAS, spoke to Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Santosh Sukhadeve, IAS, and asked him to pass the resolution through Hill Council Leh for the proper transfer of land to CSIR in a few days.
