New initiatives for sanitation workers inaugurated in Ladakh

Ladakh’s Lieutenant Governor Brig BD Mishra (retd) attended the concluding ceremony of the 15-day long ‘Swachhata hi Seva 2024’ under the theme ‘Swabhav Swachhata, Sanskaar Swachhata’ at the L-G secretariat.

He inaugurated the WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) facilities for safai karamchari of Municipal Committee, Leh, established at Solid Waste Management (SWM) Plant in Leh and felicitated Ghulam Hadi and Deachen Yangzes, who are safai mitras, with cheques of Rs 20,000 each. He also paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri on the occasion.

Stating that the entire nation is celebrating the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri today, who were visionary and worked for the welfare of the nation and the people of India, the L-G said “we are indebted to them for showing us the righteous path”.

He stated that cleanliness or Swachhata should be a habit and emphasised teaching young children about the importance of keeping one’s surroundings and oneself clean. The L-G appealed to everyone to come together to assist safai karamcharis in keeping the surroundings neat and clean. He also asked the staff of the Lieutenant Governor’s Secretariat to reuse plastics and tetra packs to avoid pollution.

Meanwhile as part of the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan initiative, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) conducted a successful cleanliness drive at geo-heritage site Shyok-Nubra valley. This initiative was part of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign, which ran from 17th September to 1st October.

The Swachhata campaign witnessed a collaborative effort for the cleanliness drive, bringing together the personnel from GSI, Department of Geology and Mining (DGM), Ladakh, local administration officials, representatives from Army, Diskit Gonpa, Diskit Degree College students, other participating organisations and local people.

Located at the confluence of the Shyok and Nubra rivers near Diskit, the Shyok-Nubra valley boasts unique geological features. The presence of sand dunes attracts tourists who can experience the thrill of double-hump camel rides. At an altitude of 3048 m above mean sea level, these dunes are the largest in the Trans-Himalayan region. These sand dunes hold particular interest for geologists, indicating climatic variations in this high-altitude terrain.