New Delhi, October 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated and dedicated five development projects worth around ₹3,350 crore in Ladakh through video conferencing.
Leh airport terminal
The new ₹650 crore terminal at Kushok Bakula Rinpoche Airport in Leh will raise annual passenger handling capacity from 10 lakh to 35 lakh. The Prime Minister said it is India’s first airport terminal to use geothermal heating, along with solar energy, to cope with the region’s climate.
Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road
The ₹2,500 crore Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road cuts travel time on the route from 12 hours to about three hours. Modi thanked engineers, workers and Border Roads Organisation personnel who built it, and said the road would help trade and business.
Power and water
The Prime Minister also dedicated the Hanu hydroelectric project and its transmission network, and 40 reservoirs built under Project Amrit Him Sarovar to provide irrigation water to farmers.
Progress since 2019
Modi said that since Ladakh became a union territory in 2019, its road network has grown from 1,800 km to over 4,000 km, major bridges from 19 to nearly 75 and helipads from 7 to over 40. Tap water coverage has risen from 3.5% to nearly 99% of households and hospital beds have doubled, he said.
He said homestays had grown from about 150 to 3,000, the region now has 11,000 greenhouses, and over 40 border villages are being upgraded under the Vibrant Villages programme. The government approved a High Court Bench for Ladakh in August this year, he added.
The Prime Minister also mentioned plans for a Centre of Excellence in Leh and proposals for satellite campuses of IIT Jammu and IIM Jammu, and spoke of wider markets for Pashmina, sea-buckthorn and GI-tagged apricots.
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