Ladakh residents protest in Delhi to press for statehood, other demands

Srinagar, Feb 15: Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance, an amalgam of trade unions, social, political and religious groups from Ladakh held protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The protest was meant to press for their four demands including full statehood, sixth schedule under Indian Constitution, job reservation, a separate Public Service Commission for Ladakh, and two parliamentary seats for Leh and Kargil.
“It has been four years and we cannot see any development happening in Ladakh even as we were promised development when the UT was made,” the said hundreds of people from Ladakh.
They said government’s ignorance towards the Ladakh forced them to reach the national capital as the development and safeguards and reservation for locals they expected didn’t come so far.
“We are concerned about our cultural identity, political representation as well as job security. LG and a few other bureaucrats can’t decide our future,” they said.
A protester said that they are disheartened witnessing young people not being able to gets jobs.
“The government has supposedly promised twelve thousand roles, but these are merely on paper. Over the last three years since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the government has not been able to develop a plan for Ladakh,” he stated.
On January 26, Wangchuk, the Ladakh-based engineer turned innovator had announced a five-day long hunger strike at 18,380 feet high Khardung to invite attention of the BJP-led Centre to the demands of the people of Ladakh, including extension of sixth schedule of the Constitution and environmental protection form unchecked industrial and commercial expansion.
The Apex and Kargil Alliance objected to the composition of the High Powered Committee announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs and headed by the Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanad Rai to discuss safeguards for the Union Territory of Ladakh. They demanded the inclusion of their four point demands in the agenda of the committee. (KNO)