LEH: A mechanism will be implemented to monitor the alarming rise in hot spring water levels that has recently occurred in the Chumathang area of the Nyoma sub-division of the Leh district, officials announced on Wednesday. According to them, a white paper on the rising water levels will be created by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, and other expert teams. It will be distributed to all relevant parties, particularly the Ladakh administration. According to the officials, senior teams from the National Disaster Management Agency, Geological Survey of India, Central Ground Water Board, National Institute of Hydrology, Western Himalayan Regional Centre, and Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology attended the high-level meeting that resulted in the decision. The meeting was presided over by Secretary of the Union Territory of Ladakh, Amit Sharma. After the white paper is developed, Sharma said, a community advisory on “dos and don’ts” will be issued, and Chumathang-Nyoma hot springs will have a regular water-level monitoring system installed. According to the officials, a shoddy brainstorming session was held to address the issue of the abrupt two to three-meter rise in water levels at Chumathang-Nyoma hot springs during the final ten days of November. About 138 kilometres from Leh, in a tiny hamlet beside the Indus River, are the Chumathang hot springs.
