Sitharaman is on a four-day visit to the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Photo: SNS
On a significant visit to Ladakh, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday inspected the upcoming site for the prestigious National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) project and also paid homage to the bravehearts at the Rezang-La War Memorial in Chushul, close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
Sitharaman is on a four-day visit to the Union Territory of Ladakh.
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The NLST project site is located near Pangong Lake in Merak, Ladakh, at an altitude of around 13,780 ft.
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NLST is a proposed ground-based 2-m class optical and near-infrared (IR) observational facility, and the site provides significant periods of coronagraphic skies (high transparency).
Dr Annapurni Subramaniam, Director – Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), was also present, and she gave details of the project to the Minister.
Sitharaman laid a wreath and paid tributes to the martyrs who laid down their lives at the Rezang La War Memorial at Chushul, a ‘Vibrant Village’, in Ladakh. The renovated Rezang La War Memorial at Chushul was dedicated to the nation on November 18, 2021.
The War Memorial was constructed in 1963 in the Chushul plains, at an altitude of over 15,000 feet, right at the border to honour the troops of Charlie Company of 13 Kumaon Regiment, who on 18 November 1962 during the Chinese aggression, had defended Rezang La and the surrounding areas located at over 16,500 feet on the Kailash Ranges in Eastern Ladakh.
She also visited the Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) at the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, Ladakh. The HCT, an advanced optical-infrared telescope, is remotely operated through a dedicated satellite link from the Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology (CREST), Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Hosakote – about 35 km from Bengaluru, Karnataka. Dedicated to the nation on 29 August 2001, the HCT continues to play a vital role in India’s astronomical research and discovery.
The Union Minister laid the foundation stone for a Mini-Planetarium and Astro Globe at the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve in the Changthang region of the Union Territory. The initiative, sanctioned under the Special Development Package (SDP), comes at an estimated cost of Rs 276.65 lakh and aims to promote scientific education, astro-tourism, stargazing, night sky programs, and generate local employment.
At the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre’s Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) Telescope facility in Hanle, Prof Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), and Dr K K Yadav from the Astrophysical Sciences Division, BARC, presented the telescope’s current achievements and future plans.
Applauding the efforts of IIA and the local community, Sitharaman remarked, “This project symbolises a collaborative spirit between the scientific and public community, a true matter of national pride.” She urged the development of programs tailored for the general public to spark interest in astrophysics through hands-on learning and proactively putting out content generated through these scientific centres.
At Rongo, she visited an animal husbandry site where she met with mostly female pashmina goat and yak herders. The Minister distributed goat-shearing machines to support their livelihood.
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