KL Report
SRINAGAR
8th CEC Ice Hockey Tournament was inaugurated at Kapila Pashkum where due to blockage of Wakha River a Lake has been formed which turned into a natural Ice Land.
District Youth Service and Sports Department organized the 8th CEC Ice Hockey Tournament at Kapila Pashkum Instead of Ice Rink Khree Sultan Choo Stadium Kargil.
On asking about the safety of the Players, in case of break out of the Ice Formation, the District Youth Service and Sports Officer Kargil Mohammad Hussain Rehnuma said that an expert team of the department has checked the ice formation at five different locations, which is more than 2 feet in thickness.
He told that this year due to a stable temperature during the winter, no Ice was formed at the Ice Hockey Rink at Khree Sultan Choo Stadium, which forced the department to look for other avenues for organizing the Tournament and the search completed at Kapila some 25 Km away from Kargil.
Talking to Media Mohammad Iqbal, a Senior International Player said that there is a great scope of Winter Sports in Kargil in Particular and in Ladakh in General as the whole National Team is constituted of players form Ladakh so Government should focus on promoting the game in the region.
Meanwhile Member Parliament from Ladakh, Thupstan Chhewang, has alerted New Delhi over the “imminent eco-disaster” in Kargil due to the blockage of Phutkalriver, saying “it can be disastrous for Zanskar Valley and its adjoining low lying areas.”
The MP’s SOS comes in the wake of stopping of world famous Chadar Trek for tourists due to blockade of Phuktalriver between ShadaySumdo and Shun.
“This is a very serious matter which could result in disastrous calamities affecting whole of Zanskar Valley and low lying areas of Leh and Kargil districts downstream of Zanskar and Indus river. I request your kind and personal intervention in the matter which may be kindly treated as most urgent,” Chhewang wrote in a letter to Union Minister for Home Affairs, Rajnath Singh.
The MP has also taken up the matter with the Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiran Rejiju, Governor of Jammu and Kashmir NN Vohra and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Chhewang said the river flowing from Shun got blocked near Marshun due to sliding of loose soil. “As per reports from official sources, the river got completely blocked and huge amount of water got accumulated at the stretch of about five kms towards ChumikGyatsa. Depth of the water could not be ascertained as ice has formed and the height formed from sliding of soil from one side of the mountain is about 200 feet as ascertained from chopper,” he said.
“The accumulated water can burst anytime and is posing great danger to the travellers on Chadar and villages located near river at low-lying areas,” the MP warned.
