Yogesh Sarkar http://www.yogeshsarkar.com/blog An online journal of my life Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:48:42 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 yogeshsarkarhttp://feedburner.google.com Srinagar – Leh Highway reopens for 2012 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yogeshsarkar/~3/kaBrBGXOcQU/ http://www.yogeshsarkar.com/blog/2012/04/25/srinagar-leh-highway-reopens-for-2012/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:46:11 +0000 Yogesh Sarkar http://www.yogeshsarkar.com/blog/?p=2914 Srinagar – Leh Highway reopens for 2012 is a post by Yogesh Sarkar

]]> Srinagar – Leh Highway today was thrown open for light vehicles by BRO, which in a statement issued today declared the highway open and stated that for the next one week only light vehicles would be allowed to ply on the Srinagar – Leh highway.

Already an army convoy has managed to cross Zoji La pass, which is the primary bottle neck on the 437km long highway connecting Kargil and Ladakh with rest of Jammu and Kashmir.

While it is a good news which has come early, travelers must be cautious about making any plans entirely dependent upon Srinagar – Leh highway, since in the beginning it is not only tough and time consuming to drive through Zoji La due to heaps of snow, highway itself can close down, if there is any heavy snowfall or landslide.

Srinagar – Leh Highway reopens for 2012 is a post by Yogesh Sarkar

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]]> J&K Administration today announced the reopening of the Kargil – Zanskar Valley road, which connects the district headquarter Kargil with the town of Padum in Zanskar Valley.

Road between Kargil and Padum is closed during the winter months due to snow accumulation at various points along the route and generally reopens in the month of the May or June.

Reopening of this route early on, in a way signifies the relatively warmer climate and less snowfall Ladakh and Zanskar Valley has received this year. Which although means faster reopening of routes for traders and tourists alike, but also means more hardships for farmers and those dependent upon the numerous streams and rivers fed by the accumulated winter snow and glaciers in the region.

Photo of Drang Drung Glacier in Zanskar Valley, with the Kargil – Padum road in the foreground.

kargil-padum-road-zanskar-valley

Having said that, at the moment few if any tourists would be able to visit Zanksar Valley due to both Srinagar – Leh and Manali – Leh routes be completely closed and flights being the only way to reach Ladakh at the moment.

Those who are planning to visit Zanksar Valley, check out the Zanskar Valley Travel Guide I wrote a while back.

Kargil – Zanskar Valley road reopens (2012) is a post by Yogesh Sarkar

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]]> In a bid to promote tourism in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir Government is developing an 18-hole Golf Course near Leh, at the town of Shey.

As per the news reports, state tourism minister, Mr. Nawang Rigzin Jora himself inspected the development progress of the golf course in Shey yesterday, which is expected to be completed in October next year (2013).

golf-course-shey-leh-ladakh

While I am no Golf fan, in fact I haven’t even played golf yet; I cannot help but see a certain charm in playing golf at 10,000ft in beautiful golf course spread over 190 acres, next to the Indus River, with beautiful landscape all around, which will no doubt attract quite a few golfers as well as tourists and locals.

Heck I might just visit Ladakh next year or year after that, in order to catch a glimpse of it and maybe even to play my first real life golf game at one of my favorite holiday destination, Ladakh.

Golf Course in Leh-Ladakh is a post by Yogesh Sarkar

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]]> Quite often I come across people, who are confused about whether they ought to transport their own motorcycles to North India for their Ladakh ride or rent a motorcycle from Delhi or Manali.

While both options have their own pros and cons, my recommendation most often than not is for the riders to bring their own motorcycles, even if they own 100cc 4st motorcycles.

motorcycles-in-ladakh

This is due to the following reasons:

  • Majority of the motorcycles available for rent are in poor condition and at times struggle at places where even the 100-125cc motorcycles can ride at ease. This also means that they consume more fuel than a motorcycle in good condition.
  • Hiring a motorcycle even for 10-12 days turns out to be a lot more expensive than transporting your own bike through railways or courier companies.
  • One is generally accustomed to riding his/her own motorcycle and thus one would be able to handle it better in case of emergency, than a motorcycle they have just rented from a shop. Similarly, it is easier to know when one’s own vehicle is encountering an issue than it is to decipher what is going on in a motorcycle you have been riding for only couple of days.
  • Additionally, majority of the renters do not provide basic and necessary things like OEM toolkit, tyre iron, spare tyre tube, spare chain link, spare spark plug and clutch and accelerator cables. These along with a little bit of spare engine oil is something that every motorcyclist visiting Ladakh should carry with him/herself.
  • Majority of the rental motorcycles aren’t legally allowed to be rented out and thus do not have black and yellow number plate which is meant to signify a self-drive vehicle in India. While in majority of the cases, there is no real world implication, but at the end of the day it is illegal and can cause trouble if the cops decide to crack down.

At the end of the day, each person must decide for themselves whether or not they wish to take their own motorcycle or rent one for a trip, but before deciding either way, one must weigh these and other points, and decide which would be not only the easiest but also the more reliable thing to do. After all, riding a motorcycle to Ladakh not only requires a rider with strong will, but also a motorcycle with a good and reliable engine.

Renting vs. taking your own motorcycle to Ladakh is a post by Yogesh Sarkar

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]]> Today is the voting phase of Delhi’s municipal body, MCD and I can’t think of any past MCD election (since I gained voting rights) which were as important as this one.

Because never in our area have the roads been so bad and neither have I seen so much rubble laying around as a result of all the digging taking place due to various reasons, as I have seen in past couple of years and I believe it is time to usher in a change.

So I did my bit by going ahead and casting my vote today.

image

Hopefully that is something that others living in our area feel as well, though I couldn’t help but notice only few turning out to vote.

Oh well, change has to begin somewhere.

Delhi MCD elections is a post by Yogesh Sarkar

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