NEW DELHI: The Ladakh administration on Sunday submitted a proposal to the Union ministry of Jal Shakti for the construction of 36 check dams to strengthen water availability and expand irrigation potential in the Union Territory.The proposal includes seven Himalayan rock check dams in Leh and 29 reinforced cement concrete (RCC) check dams in Kargil, at an estimated cost of more than Rs 56 crore.A Lok Bhavan spokesperson said the proposal has been submitted for inclusion under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) and is awaiting consideration and approval from the ministry.According to the detailed project report submitted to the Jal Shakti ministry, the proposed check dams are expected to irrigate more than 18,600 acres of land.The administration said the initiative is aimed at conserving water and improving its availability for agriculture in Ladakh, where water scarcity remains a major challenge during the agricultural season despite the region’s glaciers, snowfall and glacial meltwater.Currently, less than one percent of the total annual snow and glacial meltwater is utilised, the spokesperson said.The proposed check dams will also create an average storage capacity of 25-30 million litres of water in shallow stretches of rivers. The administration said such structures have shown durability and resistance to increasing water flows.Ladakh lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said that recent initiatives, including the diversion of around 90 million litres of glacier water from Stok Nallah into the Igoo-Phey Canal and Chushot village canal, demonstrated how simple, cost-effective and environmentally suitable interventions could improve water availability and agriculture.
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“The rock check dams and recent initiative to divert approximately 90 million litres of glacier water from Stok Nallah into Igoo-Phey Canal and Chushot village canal demonstrates that simple, cost-effective and environmentally suitable interventions can make a transformative difference to water availability and agriculture,” the LG said.“We must harness every possible water resource and create a water-secure, agriculturally prosperous and climate-resilient Ladakh,” he added.
