LEH, 19 Mar: On hunger strike for the past two weeks in support of statehood and constitutional safeguards under the 6th schedule for the union territory of Ladakh, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Tuesday said that he is planning a border march soon to highlight the “ground reality” to the outside world.
Wangchuk, a renowned education reformist, has been on a ‘climate fast’ here since 6 March, a day after talks between Leh-based Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), heading an agitation in support of the four-point demands, and the central government hit a deadlock.
On the beginning of day 14 of his ‘climate fast’, Wangchuk took to X and said that 250 people slept hungry in minus 12 degrees Celsius to safeguard Ladakh’s land, environment and tribal indigenous culture.
“Our nomads are losing prime pasture land to huge Indian industrial plants to the south, and Chinese encroachment to the north. To show the ground reality, we’re planning a border march of 10,000 Ladakhi shepherds and farmers soon,” he announced.
The KDA has called a half-day general strike and a rally in Kargil town on 20 March as part of the ongoing agitation. (PTI)