Under the central government’s wider program to establish long-term agricultural stability and water security, the Union Territory of Ladakh has begun putting an estimated 90 million litres of glacier runoff to productive use every single day. Steered by Lieutenant Governor Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena, this project relies on basic earthwork to redirect natural meltwater streams into existing infrastructure without demanding capital expenditure from the public exchequer.

For decades, farming communities across Ladakh’s cold desert landscape have struggled with a severe lack of dependable irrigation, leaving large tracts of fertile ground uncultivated despite the massive volumes of seasonal snow and glacier melt in the surrounding high ranges. By capturing these abundant natural flows, the administration has moved toward resolving the region’s long-standing water deficits, boosting agricultural output, and advancing the goal of a green, self-reliant, and water-secure Ladakh.

According to official statements from the Ladakh administration, glacial meltwater from the Stok village stream (Nallah) in Leh is now being directed straight into the Igoo-Phey Irrigation Canal. This canal feeds nearly 12 local villages and supports the irrigation of more than 1,000 acres of previously barren, parched land that could not be cultivated earlier because the canal network chronically ran dry.

To put the Centre’s strategy into action, LG Saxena guided a detailed survey across the district to identify points where significant volumes of glacier runoff were discharging unused into the Indus River. The stream passing through Stok village—fed directly by the high-altitude Stok Kangri Glacier near Leh—was among the first sites selected for a targeted diversion into the canal network.

On 14 August, acting on explicit instructions from the Lieutenant Governor, teams from the Irrigation and Flood Control Department carried out an on-site intervention using an excavator (JCB) to cut two dedicated trenches, channeling surplus meltwater away from the main bed of the Stok stream directly into the Igoo-Phey Canal.

The Stok stream carries an estimated flow of 36.6 cusecs—equivalent to roughly 90 million litres of fresh water each day—which previously drained entirely into the Indus River. Through the new earthwork cutouts, engineers diverted 26 cusecs upstream toward Igoo village and 7 cusecs downstream toward Phey village via the main Igoo-Phey channel. Administrative plans are already in progress to capture and distribute the remaining 10 cusecs.

Reflecting on the successful diversion, the Lieutenant Governor highlighted the broader implications of the intervention:

“By successfully saving 90 million litres of glacier water daily and diverting this huge volume of water from the Stok Nallah into the Igoo Phey and Yokyur canals, we have proven that large-scale, sustainable water management is entirely feasible in our cold desert. This is a monumental step toward our vision of a Green, Water-Secure, and Self-Sustaining Ladakh. Our administration’s unwavering commitment is to harness every single drop for irrigation. This successful model is just a blueprint. We will expand these cost-effective interventions across Ladakh, transforming scattered glacier flows into a permanent lifeline for agricultural prosperity, revitalised rural economies, and long-term climate resilience for the people of Ladakh,” said LG Saxena.

The history of the canal underscores the necessity of this intervention. Built in phases between 1979 and 2005, the 43-kilometer-long Igoo-Phey Canal was engineered with an underground siphon section spanning about 200 meters so that the natural flow of the Stok stream could pass overhead uninterrupted. Because the stream's full volume was never captured or fed into the canal system, the network operated far below capacity for decades. Water distribution had to be strictly rationed across neighboring habitations, and over time, significant sections of the canal fell into disuse.

Following the recent diversion, total discharge within the canal is projected to rise from roughly 50 cusecs to nearly 80 cusecs. This surge provides the 12 beneficiary villages with a continuous and unrestricted supply of irrigation water throughout the farming season. With reliable access to water, local farmers can expand their cultivated acreage, improve harvest yields, and secure higher household incomes—outcomes expected to spur rural employment and strengthen the broader regional economy.

Following the success at Stok, the Ladakh administration is preparing to implement identical diversion works on several other glacial tributaries across the territory, including Matho Nallah, Tuchik Chenmo Nallah, Tuchik Chon Nallah, and Stakna Nallah.

Alongside these surface irrigation efforts, numerous villages across Ladakh are receiving piped drinking water under the Central Government’s Jal Jeevan Mission. Since the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) framework with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, infrastructure initiatives across the basin have been accelerated to ensure that water resources from IWT rivers are systematically harnessed to meet domestic and regional development needs.