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Ecology & Environment
Mahesh

04/09/22 06:57 AM IST

Night Sky Sanctuary

In News 
  • In a unique and first-of-its-kind initiative, the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt of India, has undertaken to set up India’s first-ever "Night Sky Sanctuary" in Ladakh which will be completed within next three months.
  • The government also plans to set up a regional branch of the Central Leather Research Institute - headquartered in Chennai - as it believes Ladakh's rich biodiversity - including the famous pashmina goats - can contribute to the field of leather research.
Dark Sky Reserve
  • The proposed Dark Sky Reserve will be located at Hanle in Ladakh as a part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary.
  • It will boost Astro tourism in India and will be one of the world’s highest-located sites for optical, infra-red, and gamma-ray telescopes.
  • A tripartite MoU was signed recently among the the UT administration, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) for launching the Dark Space Reserve. 
  • Hanle is best suited for the project as it is located in Ladakh’s cold desert region, away from any form of human disturbance and clear sky conditions and dry weather conditions exist throughout the year.
Significance 
  •  The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the aegis of Union Ministry of Science & Technology is promoting "Leh Berry" which is an exclusive food product of the cold desert and also a means of wide-ranging entrepreneurship as well as self-livelihood.
  • Commercial cultivation of three medicinal plants will begin this spring season at the height of above 15,000 feet.
  • This also includes “Sanjeevani Booty”, locally known as “Sola” which has a very high life saving and therapeutic properties.
Source- PIB 

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