In another major water conservation initiative, Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Vinai Kumar Saxena, has facilitated the channelisation of nearly 20 million litres of glacier water per day into a dry irrigation canal at Chuchot village in Leh, aimed at strengthening irrigation and promoting long-term water and agricultural security.

The 20 million litres forms part of the nearly 90 million litres of glacier water from Stok Glacier being tapped and diverted at the initiative of the Lieutenant Governor. The water was earlier flowing downstream into the River Indus without being utilised for agriculture.

A major portion of the 90 million litres of daily discharge has already been diverted to the Igoo-Phey Irrigation Canal. With the latest intervention at Chuchot, the UT Administration has diverted nearly 20 million litres per day into the village canal, locally known as Khuls. As a result, the volume of glacier water flowing into the Indus has been reduced to around 5 million litres per day.

The initiative follows the Lieutenant Governor’s visit to Chuchot village on August 16, when Goba/Nambardar Mirza Hussain, on behalf of the villagers, sought his intervention to address the acute shortage of water for agriculture.

Acting on the LG’s directions, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department undertook immediate work to divert the water towards the village’s dry canal. A JCB was used to create a diversion from the existing water channel, enabling the flow to be channelised into the Chuchot canal and put to productive use instead of flowing into the Indus.

The initiative is part of the broader water-management efforts being spearheaded by the Lieutenant Governor to identify and harness glacier and snowmelt water that is otherwise lost downstream. The approach focuses on simple, cost-effective and gravity-based interventions, using existing water channels and minimal earthwork wherever feasible.

“Our objective is clear—not a single drop of glacier and snowmelt water should go to waste when our farmers need water for their fields. The diversion of water to Chuchot is another example of how simple and low-cost interventions can create meaningful benefits for local communities. We will continue to identify such opportunities across Ladakh and put our water resources to productive use for agriculture, livelihoods and long-term water security,” said L-G Saxena.

Welcoming the initiative, Goba/Nambardar Mirza Hussain expressed gratitude to the Lieutenant Governor for prioritising the villagers’ request and taking prompt action to harness the water for the benefit of Chuchot’s farmers. He described the intervention as an important step towards addressing the village’s agricultural water requirements and making better use of the area’s natural water resources.