Nyoma is a principal village of southern

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

in India, the headquarters of an

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

subdivision,

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administ ...

and

community development block In India, a Community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of Tehsil, administratively earmarked for planning and development. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), supported by several techni ...

in the

Leh district Leh district is a district in the union territory of Ladakh, India. With an area of 45,110 ''km'2'', it is the second largest district in the country smaller only to Kutch. It is bounded on the north by Gilgit-Baltistan's Kharmang and G ...

.Leh subdivision-blocks
It is located on the bank of the Indus river, after its 90-degree bend near Dungti and before the valley narrows to a gorge near Mahe. A Buddhist monastery ("gompa") is located on the hill at the back of the village. The Nyoma tehsil and subdivision cover the entire southern Ladakh, including the

Rupshu Rupshu is a high elevation plateau and valley and an eponymous community development block in southeast Ladakh. Description Frederic Drew describes the Rupshu valley as follows: Drew states that the valleys of Rupshu continue beyond the Tso ...

plains, the Hanle valley and the Indus valley of Skakjung.

Military facilities

Nyoma Airbase

Indian Military The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

has an operational airbase at Nyoma. In 2022, the airbase received Wildlife Board's forests clearance for expansion in 508 hectares land inside

Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary The Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary (or the Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary) is a high altitude wildlife sanctuary located in the Ladakhi adjunct of the Changthang plateau in the Leh District of the union territory of Ladakh. It is impor ...

Field Firing Range

Nearby Mahe has Indian Military's "Mahe Field Firing Range" (MFFR) on 1259.25 hectares land inside the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary. Firing range is 40 to 50 km from the disputed India-China

Line of Actual Control The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...

. This is the one of its type firing range in the entire Indian-held Ladakh region where all types of weapons can be fired.

Fiber optical cable for internet & telephony

In 2022, wildlife clearance was also granted for laying optical fiber cables in the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary and Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary for the internet and telephony connectivity.

Location and geography

The Indus river after its entry into Ladakh flows in a southwesterly direction through a wide valley. Afterwards, it takes a 90-degree bend at Dungti blocked by the higher ground of the Chushul valley. The village of Nyoma lies 33 km west of the bend on the right bank (northern bank), where it is also coupled with another neighbouring village Mood (or ''Mud'' or ''Mad''). The Indus river here is said to be wide and shallow. It could be easily forded. Nyoma is located 41 km southeast of Chumathang, and 87 km south of

Chushul Chushul is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Durbuk tehsil, in the area known as "Chushul Valley", south of the Pangong Lake and west of the Spanggur Lake. The Line of Actual Control with China runs about 5 m ...

. Nearby villages are Mahe and Loma. Hanle, the largest village in southern Ladakh, is 80 km to the southeast. Mount Sajum on the border with China is 43 km to the east.

Border infrastructure

The Nyoma tehsil borders the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of � ...

of China on the south and the east. The southern border runs along the

Chumar Chumar or Chumur () is a village and the centre of nomadic grazing region located in south-eastern Ladakh, India. It is in Rupshu block, south of the Tso Moriri lake, on the bank of the Parang River (or ''Pare Chu''), close to Ladakh's border w ...

village in Rupshu and the Imis Pass at the end of the Hanle valley. The eastern border, a

resulting from the 1962 war with China, runs along the

Kailash Range Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of ...

watershed of the Indus river till the village of Dumchele and narrows to the right bank of the Indus river up to Demchok. The border in the

Demchok sector The Demchok sector is a disputed area named after the villages of Demchok in Ladakh and Demchok in Tibet, situated near the confluence of the Charding Nullah and Indus River. It is a part of the greater Sino-Indian border dispute between ...

remains disputed. Nyoma is home to an Advanced Landing Ground of Indian Airforce, which was first built in 1962. It was reactivated in 2009 when an

An-32 The Antonov An-32 ( NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft. Design and development The An-32 is essentially a re-engined An-26. It is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the ...

landed in this airfield.New IAF airfield to be reopened in east Ladakh
The Economic Times, 6 April 2009. The road from

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...

runs till the village of

Koyul Koyul is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Nyoma tehsil, on the banks of the Koyul Lungpa river just before it joins the Indus River. Geography The village of Koyul is in the Koyul Lungpa valley, which hous ...

, crossing the Indus river at Loma. From Koyul to Demchok, there is only a rough track. An alternative border road runs between the Koyul Lungpa valley and Demchok via the Umling La pass. Roads infrastructure this area is being enhanced under the India-China Border Roads projects.

Tourism

Since 2010, foreign tourists with

Inner Line Permit Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document issued by the concerned state government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those state ...

s are permitted to visit Nyoma and its monastery.

Civil administration

Nyoma subdivision

The permanent civilian habitations under the administration of the Nyoma

Community Development Block In India, a Community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of Tehsil, administratively earmarked for planning and development. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), supported by several techni ...

( district subdivision) include villages like Nayoma, Hanle, Koyul, Demchok, Tsaga, Mudh, Rongo, Nyedar, etc.Successive govts have neglected border areas of Ladakh: Nyoma's BDC chair
Economic Times, 24 June 2020.

Nyoma village

Demographics

According to the

2011 census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Nyoma has 202 households. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 49.94%.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020 Villages in Nyoma tehsil Indian Air Force bases