Will intensify protest if demands not met, say Ladakh groups

A day after they held a protest at Delhis Jantar Mantar groups from Ladakh on Thursday reiterated their demands for statehood and sixth schedule status for the Union Territory threatening to intensify their agitation if the government does not listen to themAt a press conference here environmental activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk said democracy has been compromised in Ladakh and the local people have no say in decisionmakingSpeaking on behalf of Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance an amalgam of social religious and political groups from the two districts of Ladakh Wangchuk stressed on the need to provide safeguards for the environmentally sensitive area and involve locals in decisionmakingWe wanted to become a Union Territory but we never imagined it would be without a legislature There is no participation of people anymore in how the budget allocated to us is spent The Autonomous Hill Council has also been weakened and the issue of statehood is of utmost importance to the people of Ladakh he saidSajjad Hussain an activist from Kargil said Ladakh is going through a crisis and urgent attention is neededLadakh is going through a crisis When Article 370 was abrogated the two districts Leh and Kargil had different aspirations While there were protests in Kargil it was welcomed in Leh he saidHussain said the administration has been left to the Lieutenant Governor and bureaucrats who are not accountable to the people of LadakhUnemployment is on the rise graduates PhD holders are on roads When we asked for a separate Public Service Commission government said they had no plans he saidPeople have been totally disempowered we have no representation Earlier we had four MLAs in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly and they had a say in the assembly he saidThe groups say they will intensify their protest if their demands are not metIn a democratic society protest is our right There have been several protests in Ladakh over the last two years we will intensify protests if our demands are not met Hussain saidAlso Read IIT B student death Mumbai police team probing matter visits AhmedabadBoth Wangchuk and Hussain also said that their voices are being stifled by police actionIf any student protests in Kargil police action is initiated Last year some youths protested on a landrelated matter They were called by the police he saidThere is no space left for dissent There is no accountability Wangchuk said adding there is no democracy left in the whole structureWe do not have elected representatives to make decisions When we had four MLAs in the JampK assembly our voice was heard Now it seems like we have been put under LGs rule forever he saidIf someone writes something on social media action is taken Some youths shouted slogans demanding the sixth schedule in a stadium they were taken to the police station and beaten up he saidLadakh was carved into a Union Territory without legislature when Article 370 and 35A were abrogated and Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union TerritoriesOver the last two years protests have been held in both Leh and Kargil demanding the protection of the interests of the people of LadakhIn January this year the Union home ministry constituted a highpowered committee headed by Minister of State Nityanand Rai to ensure the protection of land and employment for the people of LadakhThe two bodies from Leh and Kargil however rejected the committee and decided not to attend any meeting conducted under its name saying its mandate did not mention the issues raised by themThe protestors are demanding statehood for Ladakh sixth schedule under Constitution job reservation a separate public service commission for Ladakh and two parliamentary seats for Leh and KargilThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever