LG VK Saxena launches mega project to revive shrinking Tso Kar Lake

The useful part

In a major effort for high-altitude ecological restoration, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena launched an ambitious project to revive the rapidly drying Tso Kar Lake in the high-altitude Changthang region of Ladakh. The landmark initiative aims to channelise up to 320 million litres of glacier meltwater daily to restore the Ramsar site to its former scale. Over the past decade, Tso Kar—once spanning nearly 11,000 acres—has desiccated by almost 70 percent, shrinking to just 3,200 acres.

How it works

• Following the visit, the Lieutenant Governor directed the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department to conduct a detailed survey.
• After around 15 days of groundwork, the department submitted its report on August 30, initially proposing an 11-km RCC channel.
• However, citing ecological concerns, Saxena directed officials to avoid constructing a new RCC channel and instead use a simple earthen channel to divert the glacier water.
• The sharp decline has severely degraded surrounding pastures, disrupted local salt-trading traditions and threatened wildlife habitats, including nesting grounds for the endangered Black-necked Crane.
• Tso Kar, one of Ladakh's iconic high-altitude glacial lakes, once covered nearly 11,000 acres but has now reduced to around 3,200 acres.

What to take from it

The project was conceived after LG Saxena visited Tso Kar on August 10, 2026, where local villagers and the Nambardar informed him about the lake's rapid decline and the resulting reduction in bird populations and grazing land. The shrinking water body has also affected its ecosystem, with a sharp decline in migratory birds, including the famed Black-necked Crane.

Details worth keeping

With winter approaching and temperatures expected to fall sh...