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 conditions and dry weather conditions exist throughout the year, the Minister added.
The Minister informed that a tripartite MoU was signed recently among the UT administration, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) for launching the Dark Space Reserve. He said the site will have activities to help in boosting local tourism and the economy through interventions of Science and Technology.
Jitendra Singh said, a high-level delegation of scientists and officials from Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai will visit Ladakh by the end of this year to explore the possibility of setting up a regional branch of CLRI, as the Union Territory has a very rich and wide variety of animals for leather research and industry and to promote bio-economy of animal skin-derived products.
He said that Charthang in Ladakh has over 4 lakh animals, mainly pashmina goats, besides sheep and yak.
He also complimented the CSIR for organising four training workshops, two each at Leh and Kargil for the treatment of diseases of famous pashmina goats.