Ladakh taps Indus water for agriculture

Srinagar: Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday praised the Ladakh administration for improving water efficiency and agricultural sustainability by diverting millions of litres of untapped glacier runoff daily to parched villages in the mountainous region.

Ladakh LG Vinai Kumar Saxena said his administration had reduced untapped water discharge into the Indus river from nearly 90 million litres a day to around 5 million litres.

"Well done, LG Ladakh. As I discovered during my committee's recent visit, Ladakh promises to be a national showcase for environmental progress and sustainability. Let's keep at it," Tharoor wrote on X. He led a 10-member parliamentary standing committee on external affairs that visited Ladakh in June.


Saxena said that following his visit to Chuchot village on August 16 and an appeal by residents, the administration had diverted nearly 20 million litres of Stok Glacier water to the dry village canal in Chuchot. He described the move as another step towards addressing the water crisis and ensuring agricultural sustainability.

"Combined with the water already channelised into the Igoo-Phey Irrigation Canal, we have succeeded in reducing the untapped water discharge into the Indus river from nearly 90 million litres of water per day to just around 5 million litres daily," said Saxena.

He said the administration's objective was to ensure that not a single drop of glacier melt went to waste when farmers needed it for their fields. "Using simple, low-cost and gravity-based interventions, our engineers have completed this vital task swiftly. This will significantly boost agriculture, livelihoods and water security in Ladakh. We remain committed to identifying such opportunities across the region to harness our natural resources for the prosperity of our local communities," said Saxena.

Earlier, Saxena said the administration had created two diversions from Stok Nallah to divert 90 million litres of untapped glacier runoff daily from the Stok Kangri glacier into the Igoo-Phey Irrigation Canal. "Out of the 36 cusecs of discharge from the Stok Nallah, 25 cusecs of water has been diverted into the canal, thereby, augmenting water supply into the canal, from 50 cusecs to nearly 75 cusecs," said Saxena.