Leh: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday visited the project site for National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) near Pangong lake in the Union Territory of Ladakh, officials said.
Sitharaman, who is currently on a four-day tour of the region, also laid a wreath at the Rezang La War Memorial in Chushul village and paid tribute to the martyrs, who laid down lives in the service of the nation, they said.
NLST project aims to build a two-meter class optical and near-infrared (IR) telescope near the Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh at an altitude of around 4,200 meters.
The primary goal is to conduct high-resolution studies of the solar atmosphere, focusing on understanding magnetic fields, solar activity and helioseismology.
The Union minister was during her visit to the NLST project site in Merak briefed about the project by Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Director Professor Annapurni Subramaniam, the officials said.
On the third day of her visit, Sitharaman laid the foundation stone for a Mini Planetarium and Astro Globe at the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve in Ladakh’s Changthang region.
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, the officials said.
At the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre’s Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) Telescope facility in Hanle, Prof Subramaniam and K K Yadav from the Astrophysical Sciences Division, BARC, presented the telescope’s current achievements and future plans.
Applauding the efforts of the IIA and the local community, the minister remarked, “This project symbolizes a collaborative spirit between the scientific and public community, a true matter of national pride.”
She urged the development of programs tailored for the common public to spark interest in astrophysics through hands-on learning and proactively putting out content generated through these scientific centres.
Sitharaman also visited Chushul, a vibrant village, and laid a wreath and paid tributes to the martyrs at the Rezang La War Memorial, the officials said.
The War Memorial was constructed in the Chushul plains in 1963 at an altitude of over 15,000 feet, right at the border to honour the troops of Charlie Company of 13 Kumaon Regiment who had defended Rezang La and the surrounding areas on the Kailash Ranges in eastern Ladakh on November 18, 1962.
The renovated Rezang La War Memorial was dedicated to the nation on November 18, 2021.
