Ladakh is often called an “Arid desert” as it falls in “rain shadow zone”. The main sources of irrigation are perennial rivers fed by glaciers and streams fed by seasonal snow and aquifers with catchment confined within spurs. While gravity canals taking off from rivers irrigate moderate to low laying land along river valleys, small water channels known as “khul” in revenue parlance taking off from streams irrigate land on higher contours in valley settlements.
Till recent past, Ladakh us...