Avinav Verma
Jammu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Ladakh later this month and may travel to Chumur, a remote border village near the Line of Actual Control, where Ladakh’s first Model Border Village is being developed under the Vibrant Villages Programme.
The possible visit comes as the Centre and Ladakh representatives remain engaged in discussions on constitutional safeguards, an elected Union Territory-level body and the powers of local institutions.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had also indicated during his recent visit to Ladakh that the Prime Minister was likely to visit the Union Territory.
Located at an altitude of about 16,700 feet, Chumur is a small settlement of 24 households and 91 residents in eastern Ladakh, close to the India-China border. The village is known for Pashmina goat rearing and wool production and is also part of the Korzok-Hanle tourism circuit.
If confirmed, the visit would take Modi to one of Ladakh’s highest and most remote inhabited settlements.
His previous visit to a forward area came on July 3, 2020, when he made an unannounced visit to Nimu, at an altitude of around 11,000 feet, shortly after the June 15 Galwan clash between Indian and Chinese troops.
Modi later visited Drass and Leh on July 26, 2024, but did not travel to the LAC.
The development of Chumur as a Model Border Village began earlier this year with support from the Centre and the Ladakh administration.
The first phase of the Vibrant Villages Programme envisages 10 border villages being developed as Model Border Villages in Ladakh.
The Chumur project focuses on four areas — basic infrastructure, livelihoods and employment, year-round functionality and civil-defence preparedness.
The plan seeks to make the high-altitude settlement more resilient to extreme weather while creating opportunities through tourism and local economic activity.
Under the housing component, families will receive south-facing passive-solar houses designed to retain heat during the harsh winter months, when temperatures can fall to around minus 35 degrees Celsius.
Each house is planned with an attached bathroom, an additional room that can be used for homestay accommodation, kitchen-garden space, livestock sheds and dedicated fodder storage.
The project is also expected to strengthen the village’s tourism potential as part of the Korzok-Hanle circuit while supporting traditional livelihoods such as Pashmina goat rearing.
The possible visit comes days after the latest meeting between the Ministry of Home Affairs sub-committee and Ladakh representatives on September 9.
The ongoing discussions cover the proposed Article 371 framework, an elected UT-level body and safeguards concerning land, employment, culture, natural resources and local governance. The structure and powers of the proposed institutions are still under discussion.
Separately, the administration has extended the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council system to all seven districts following the creation of five new districts — Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass — in addition to Leh and Kargil.
