Ladakh Night Sky Sanctuary to be ready by year-end

The work on India’s first-ever ‘Night Sky Sanctuary’ in Ladakh’s Hanle is going on in full swing and is expected to be complete in over a month’s time.

The sanctuary, being set up by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the Ministry of Science and Technology, will attract tourists from across the world to picturesque Ladakh and also boost astro-tourism in the region.

On Friday, Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh R K Mathur called on Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh at North Block to brief him about the status of the ongoing project.

As reported by IndiaNarrative.com earlier, the proposed Dark Sky Reserve will be located at Hanle as a part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary. It will boost astro tourism in India and will be one of the world’s highest-located sites for optical, infrared, and gamma-ray telescopes.

The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), and the UT administration have signed a tripartite MoU for launching the Dark Space Reserve. The site will have activities to boost local tourism and the economy through interventions of science and technology.

It may be noted that Hanle is best suited for the project as it is located in Ladakh’s cold desert region, away from any form of human disturbance and clear sky and dry weather conditions exist throughout the year.

The two also discussed a wide range of development-related issues pertaining to the Union Territory.

Mathur apprised Singh about the ‘Rozgar Mela’ held on October 31 in Ladakh where the UT Administration gave away appointment letters to around 1,000 local youth, furthering the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give jobs to the deserving youth of the country.

While discussing the various projects, Singh emphasised that PM Modi has always accorded the highest priority to Ladakh and other peripheral regions.

He also appreciated the efforts of the Ladakh administration in carrying out development work in various spheres in Ladakh. The minister assured all possible assistance of the Centre in the completion of developmental projects in the UT.

Also Read: India steps up ‘astro-tourism’ with first-ever star-gazing site in Ladakh