Tourism Department Plans Revamp of Khardungla: Enhancing Safety & Tourist Experience and Preserving Natural Beauty

LEH, May 17: The Administrative Secretary, Tourism Department, UT Ladakh, Kacho Mehboob Ali Khan chaired a meeting at the Civil Secretariat, Leh. The primary objective of the meeting was to address the issue of managing visitor/tourist flow at Khardungla and creation of adequate parking space. Additionally, the meeting discussed the removal of old & non-functional amenities such as, souvenir shop, public toilets, ATM, and cafeteria aiming to transform Khardungla into a safe tourist spot.

The meeting was attended by officers from various departments viz. District Deputy Commissioner, Tourism, Public Works, Vijayak (BRO) and Leh Development Authority (LDA). The officers discussed various issues in detail considering the need for sustainable & safe tourist management while preserving the ecological balance and cultural heritage of the region.

The Secretary emphasized on the significance of striking a balance between tourism promotion and safeguarding the ecosystem surrounding Khardungla. He highlighted the need to streamline the flow of visitors/tourists so as to ensure their safety and convenience and as well to mitigate the environmental impact of unregulated movement of vehicles/bikes on the pristine landscape. He stressed upon making the Khardongla Pass a stop-over spot for visitors/tourists considering its altitude and safety and health of the visitors/tourists. He emphasised that all the redundant/obsolete structures, which are an eye-sore and impediment, are required to be removed for creation of space & parking lots for four wheelers & two wheelers separately. It was emphasised that visitors/tourists visiting Khardungla can avail public amenities and other facilities at North and South pullu.

In the meeting, it was decided to remove all redundant/obsolete structures. DC/CEO, LAHDC, Leh; Viyayak, BRO; 14 Corps Hqr.; and AD(Tourism), Leh were asked to take immediate action and report compliance by 25^th May 2023.

Vijayak, BRO was given directions to start widening work to create enough space for parking at the pass and demarcating parking space through laying of inter-locking blocks etc. Further, BRO was asked to submit a master-plan by 25^th May 2023.

It was decided that the LDA will complete the ongoing work on the viewpoints at the earliest. Also, R&B Division, Leh & LDA were asked to complete the work on the wayside amenities at South Pullu and North Pullu immediately and handover the same to AD Tourism, Leh.

 AD Tourism, Leh was asked to start working on outsourcing these two amenities soon after taking over them from R&B Division, Leh and LDA.

The meeting was attended by Director (Tourism), Kunzes Angmo; Superintending Engineer, PW (R&B) Circle, Leh, Nissar Ahmad; Addl. Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Sonam Chosjor; Representative of Chief Engineer, Project Vijayak, BRO; Assistant Director, Tourism Department, Leh, Tsering Spalzes and OSD to Administrative Secretary, Mohd Ali Tak.