Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk announces 'border march' to highlight ground realities in Ladakh

Accusing the BJP of backtracking from its promises to the people of Ladakh, Wangchuk said the representatives of the Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) were left shocked when the Union home ministry straightway rejected their demands on March 4

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk announces 'border march' to highlight ground realities in Ladakh
Wangchuk alleged that nomads were losing prime pasture land to huge industrial plants to the south and Chinese encroachments to the north Image Courtesy Agencies

Sonam Wangchuk, a climate activist, declared on Wednesday that the campaign to demand Ladakh’s statehood will intensify and that a “border march” will take place in the eastern portion of the Union territory on April 7 to draw attention to the reality on the ground, including purported Chinese invasion.

Wangchuk, a member of the Leh-based Apex body, which is made up of social, religious, and political organizations, stated that their movement is using a Gandhian approach, which is essential to protecting the region’s delicate ecology and the native character of its people.

“We are followers of (Mahatma) Gandhi’s Satyagraha. We are demanding the fulfilment of the promises made to us by this (BJP) government through its manifestos which led its candidates to win parliamentary polls (in 2019) and hill council polls in Leh (2020),” he told a gathering here.