CHANDIGARH: Ladakh Science Foundation and IndianGeoparks have joined hands to work together to protect and preserve the geoheritage sites of Ladakh to educate the children and promote geotourism in the union territory.
Dr Ritesh Arya of IndianGeoparks said that Ladakh has great heritage and geoheritage sites which can be integrated to make them as IndianGeoparks. The geoheritage sites can be preserved for promotion of geotourism and educating the children about geological evolution of Himalayas and climate changes the place has undergone in the geological past on one hand and leave a good legacy for our future generations.
He further said that these sites have unknowingly being destroyed by the needs and greed of rapid urbanisation. With little care these sites can be preserved and they can provide lot of information about our rich geological past to our future generations and scientists visiting from different parts of india and abroad.
Dr Tashi Ladakh Science Foundation emphasised the need to protect and preserve our rich geoheritage by educating the community and locals about the need and significance of preserving our glorious past.
He said a pilot project would be taken up at Shey and Spituk under guidance of Dr Ritesh Arya and research scholars Ilyas Mehnaz and 9 other fellows will work in different capacity to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental of the lake and try to establish its relationship with the stupas located on its banks.
These stupas coincide with the boundary of lake. The area of the lake has been studied by various workers from GSI BSIP and universities but today these are being destroyed due to indiscriminate sand mining. Same is the case of Spituk Clay section.
Need of the hour is to protect and preserve these sites as geoheritage site so that the sites can be helpful in promoting education and Geotourism.