“16th LADAKHI KISAN-JAWAN-VIGYAN MELA AT DIHAR LEH”

Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) situated at 11500 ft above MSL at Leh has the major mandate to make the hostile terrains of Ladakh reasonably green and productive to sustain its meager and sparse population and the Defence forces deployed in this sector. This laboratory strives to boost the local availability of fresh food for the troops deployed in L sector through local farmers by developing suitable technologies through research and development programmes and development of supplementary herbal products and draught animals for army.

DIHAR, Leh since its establishment in 1962 has evolved into a pioneer R&D institute in the field of high altitude agro-animal sciences. To create awareness and interest of various agro-animal know-how and technologies among local population and troops, the mela is being organized since 1992 at Leh.
Like previous years, this year also, DIHAR is organizing Ladakhi Kisan-Jawan-Vigyan Mela (LKJVM) from 16th to 17th Aug 2008 at DIHAR HQ Leh and on 23rd Aug 2008 at DIHAR Det Partapur (Siachen Sector) with a view to disseminate relevant agro-animal technologies from lab to land for the benefit of Kisans and Jawans of Ladakh. The major objective behind organizing this mela is to help local farmers and troops identify themselves with the technologies and get on-the-spot feedback from the scientist regarding any doubts and queries so that the technologies are adopted at the grassroots level and finally the produce goes to the troops.

Various other allied organizations are also actively participating in the mela to make it more educative and interactive for the local populace as well as for the troops and para-military forces deployed in ‘L’ sector. Over the year the mela has grown in its size and scope and evolved as a platform for interaction between farmers, troops and scientists. It is a matter of great pleasure that this year’s 16th LKJVM is being celebrated in the Golden Jubilee Year of DRDO.