Commissioner/Secretary, Tourism & Culture, Ladakh, Kacho Mehboob Ali Khan conducted an on-site inspection and reviewed ongoing construction work of the Archives, Archaeology & Museums building at Skampari, Leh on August 8.

The Commissioner/Secretary ascertained the progress of work at the site and directed the Registering Officer (RO), Antiquities, and the Executing Agency [PW(R&B) Department, Leh] to complete the work by September end of this year. He instructed the officers to speed up the pace of work without compromising quality and ensure that all the planned & approved facilities are in place.

During the visit RO, Antiquities briefed about the valuable artifacts, which are being planned to shift from the storehouse to the newly constructed site as soon as the building is complete & ready. After inspection of some of the artifacts, the Commissioner/Secretary instructed that a proper catalog of available records, such as archival records, valuable artifacts/records, etc. should be prepared so that the same could be curated well and displayed properly in the new building. He instructed the officers to constitute a committee for identifying heritage artifacts across the UT, speed up the transfer of archival records/artifacts from the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir, and digitize archival records in consultation with the National Archives of India.

He instructed the Executing Agency to incorporate a proper heating system and to explore creating sufficient parking space near the building.