New Delhi, 02 October (H.S.): The Government of India, in consultation with the Union Territory administration of Ladakh, has formally identified 28 places and geographical features in Ladakh by their standardised names on the official map of the Survey of India (SoI).

The move is aimed at facilitating the accurate identification of these locations and enhancing public awareness about their geographical significance. The Ministry of Home Affairs said that the formal identification of these places and features on the Survey of India map would provide a standard reference for their names and locations.

The 28 places and geographical features include peaks, mountains, passes, glaciers, valleys, rivers, lakes, water bodies and land areas. The officially standardised list is as follows:

1. Atisha Giri — Peak

2. Brangsa — Land Area

3. Chapchingal Pass — Pass

4. Kanishka Peak — Peak

5. Karun Pir — Mountain

6. Kuksel — Land Area

7. Martand Giri — Peak

8. Parpik — Glacier

9. Skamri Glacier — Glacier

10. Shachmirk Pass — Pass

11. Shkorga Valley — Valley

12. Zorawar Peak — Peak

13. Dehra Compass — Land Area

14. Drak Karpo — Mountain

15. Gogra — Land Area

16. Jolmori — Mountain

17. Kumarayana Point — Land Area

18. Panglung — Land Area

19. Rinchen Zangpo — Peak

20. Sakyasri Giri — Peak

21. Guru Rinpoche — Lake

22. Shamal Lungpa — Land Area

23. Yangpa River — River

24. Hot Spring — Water Body

25. Marpa Lotsava Ri — Peak

26. Milarepa Kangri — Peak

27. Shiva Ri — Peak

28. Maheshvara Ri — Peak.

The Ministry said the exercise is intended to ensure the accurate recognition of the identified geographical features and to promote greater awareness among the public. The standardisation also provides a consistent nomenclature for official cartographic and government records.

Among the identified features are Gogra and Hot Spring, which are located in the strategically sensitive eastern Ladakh region along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The official classification, however, records Gogra as a land area and Hot Spring as a water body.

The list also includes several peaks associated with prominent historical and Buddhist figures, including Atisha, Rinchen Zangpo, Marpa Lotsawa and Milarepa, along with names such as Shiva Ri and Maheshvara Ri.

The latest exercise follows similar initiatives undertaken by the Central Government in other strategically sensitive border regions, including Arunachal Pradesh, where geographical features have previously been given standardised names for inclusion in official Indian maps.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar