Ladakh L-G holds meeting to redress tele-connectivity issues in UT

Leh, Jun 8 (PTI) Ladakh Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur on Tuesday held a meeting to redress tele-connectivity issues in the union territory, an official spokesman said.

Mathur also reviewed the progress made by the commerce & industries and the wildlife departments, the spokesman said.

He said Ladakh Information Technology Secretary Saugat Biswas gave a detailed presentation on the work done in making available internet and telecom services across Ladakh.

Installation and commissioning of new towers in uncovered areas, Wi-Fi networks, connectivity solutions via optical fiber cables (OFC), progress in services and infrastructure of the Ladakh State Data Centre, and spectrum upgradation of the existing telecom service providers, among other issues, were deliberated upon during the meeting, the spokesman said.

He said Mathur instructed the IT secretary for creation of a redundancy for OFC networks available in Ladakh aiming at achieving an uninterrupted internet.

Mathur also discussed the functioning of common service centres (CSCs) at the Gram Panchayat level and increasing their numbers. He suggested exploring the prospect of making more CSCs enabled with facilities related to Aadhaar to increase the Aadhaar enrolment among 0-5 and 5-18 years age groups across Ladakh, which, according to the statistics presented by the IT department, was the lowest.

The lieutenant governor was apprised of the future projects to be carried out by the department such as data centre, human resource management software, and community radio network in Ladakh, the spokesman said.

Mathur stressed the need for each department to set a target for annual job creation and stated that the IT department may involve local computer proficient youth for operating call centres and CSCs across Ladakh.

The progress made in implementing e-stamp and e-gazzette was commended by the L-G who directed that e-office be made functional in all offices of the administration in a fixed timeframe, the spokesman said.

Reviewing the developments made in the Pashmina sector in Ladakh, Mathur asserted that the primary objective of the Ladakh administration should be the improvement in the economy of the Changthang.

He urged the commerce and industries department to procure state-of-the-art technologies for dehairing, spinning and weaving.

He also suggested training the local youth and entrepreneurs in designing the finished pashmina products, the spokesman said.

Wildlife Principal Secretary Pawan Kotwal and Forest Chief Conservator Preet Pal Singh apprised Mathur of the various developmental projects being undertaken by the department.

They informed him about upgradation of nurseries, project Juniper, completion of biodiversity conservatory cum field research station at Diskit, Nubra, eco-friendly public conveniences at forest park, Sankoo and development of eco-tourism facilities.

Progress regarding rationalisation of boundaries of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary and Hemis National Park was also discussed. Mathur instructed the department to expedite the final decision on the matter on a priority basis, the spokesman said.

The Lt Governor also instructed the department to expedite the payment of ex-gratia compensation for loss of life and livestock caused by wildlife attacks. PTI AB TAS HRS hrs