LEH: In a momentous occasion for Ladakh, the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, R K Mathur joined by Prof. K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser, GoI on Friday dedicated two Astronomy Labs to the students of Ladakh during the virtual inauguration of the Astronomy Labs at Raj Niwas.
These Astronomy labs have been established, one each at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Leh and Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kargil in collaboration with the office of Principal Scientific Adviser, GoI and sponsored by Shiv Nadar Foundation. Addressing the gathering, the Lt. Governor said that environment protection was one of the aspirations of Ladakhi people in the newly formed UT of Ladakh. “I believe that knowing one’s environment is the best way to preserve and protect the environment and setting up of these astronomy labs is a culmination of this thought towards a practical understanding of the extra-ordinary clean environment of Ladakh,” said Mathur.
He said that these astronomy labs would benefit not only school children and youth at large but could be utilized as a stepping stone to promote Astro tourism in Ladakh. The Lt. Governor shared the idea conceived to convert Hanley into a dark sky sanctuary and to explore possibilities to promote virtual tourism in Ladakh which he said would generate entrepreneurial opportunities for the local youth. He thanked Prof. Vijay Raghavan and the entire team for setting up the Astro labs in Ladakh and requested for their continued support in training and lectures by eminent Astrophysicists, and also help to set up 10 more labs in Ladakh.
He also pointed out the need to utilised the enriched environment of Hanley for continuous research programme by researchers and experts from India and abroad. He asked for continued support from the office of Principal Scientific Adviser, GoI and Indian Institute of Astro Physics to get these ideas conceptualised on ground. CEC, LAHDC, Leh Tashi Gyalson and CEC, LAHDC, Kargil Feroz Ahmad Khan also spoke on the occasion and thanked the Lt. Governor for his initiative in establishing the Astro labs.
They expressed hope that these labs would prove highly beneficial to the students and raised the need to expand more such labs in other schools of Ladakh. Prof. Raghavan in his speech spoke of the rich legacy that India holds in the history of Astronomy citing Aryabatta and modern tradition using telescope.
He said that every child can aspire to be an astronomer and excel in the field of Astro physics. This should not remain restricted to a particular section of the society.
