Leh, March 23 -- Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Monday launched the Indus River Green Corridor Eco-Restoration Plantation at Spituk Pharka, an initiative aimed at restoring the ecological integrity of the Indus riverbanks and creating green buffers in the fragile desert landscape of Leh-Ladakh.

This initiative is a one of its kind Cold Desert River Bank Restoration Project in India, according to a press release.

As part of the exercise, nearly 1000 saplings of indigenous species like Oleaster, Sea buckthorn, Indian Willow, Black Poplar and White Willow were planted on the riverbank through collaborative efforts of civil administration, military, paramilitary, police, and local communities, especially Spituk Gonpa and its mona...