The 8 days Eco-Guide Training programme for un-employed youth from wildlife protected areas of Leh district including Hemis National Park, Changthang Cold Desert Sanctuary and Karakuram Sanctuary concluded at Shenam Community Hall, Leh on 15 May.

Chief Executive Councilor LAHDC, Leh Rigzin Spalbar who was the chief guest on the valedictory function appreciated and congratulated Wildlife Department headed by Chief Conservator Forest Ladakh, Jigmet Takpa and trainee students for conducting this week long training very successfully and said that real benefit of this training will be realized only when these students earn handsome income in this profession. He encouraged the trainee students to take utmost benefit from this training by progressing in this field uninterruptedly.

Talking about the booming tourism industry of Ladakh with adequate infrastructural facilities, Spalbar said that in service sector professionalism is very important and we Ladakhi are lacking behind in this field. To make our unemployed youth skilled, Food Craft Institute at Takskithang, Leh will prove to be beneficial in providing skilled hands to the growing tourism industry of Ladakh. This industry has immense potential to provide dignified jobs to a large number of unemployed youths and urged upon the youths of Ladakh to engage them professionally in this sector.
 
Executive Councilor for Tourism Mohd Shafi Lassu and Executive Councilor for Animal and Sheep Husbandry Gyurmet Dorjey also spoke about the role and importance of professional guides in growing tourism industry of Ladakh.
 
Earlier, Chief Conservator Forest Ladakh Jigmet Takpa expounding in detail about the weeklong Eco-Guide Training programme said that experts of WWF, Cultural Academy, Scholars and Lecturers were invited to provide trainings to the students besides field visit to various know tourist destination was also conducted.    
 
Few trainees’ guides while sharing their weeklong training experience termed such programme very beneficial to polish their profession and requested to organize such training in more comprehensive way in future.
 
Later, CEC and other guests distributed certificates to the trained guides.