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| Leh, Kargil join hands and demand separate administrative set-up | | Unity in Ladakh | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 7: Things in Ladakh are changing and changing at a rapid pace. Things have changed to the extent that the region is witnessing a remarkable unity between Buddhist-dominated Leh and Shia-dominated Kargil against the 71-year-old Kashmiri dominated politico-administrative structure. Hitherto, it would be only the Ladakhi Buddhists who would demand separation from Kashmir on the ground that they didn't want any kind of truck with Kashmiri leadership as it was discriminatory and essentially Kashmir-centric. Now, the Shia-dominated Kargil is also witnessing developments which clearly suggest that the people of this district too wanted a separate administrative set-up for the whole Ladakh region.
The case in point is the broad consensus between the people of Leh district and Kargil district that the existing system has failed to produce the desired results and that the time has come for a drastic change in the 71-year-old structure. The people and councilors of both the regions have in one voice demanded a separate administrative set-up invested with divisional status, saying grant of divisional status to the region is the only panacea available to ensure all-round development of their region.
During the past few days, they have also met the powers-that-be in the state and at the centre and demanded divisional status for their region. Justifying the demand former BJP minister and MLC Namgyal has said: "'Free Ladakh from Kashmir' is one of our major demands and it can be achieved first by granting divisional status to Ladakh and later conceding to the demand for union territory status. We have also met the Prime Minister and Home Minister and flagged our concerns. We have been assured that the issues will surely be addressed". He also added "we will persistently fight for UT status to Ladakh till our last breath."
Reports suggest that their demand was being considered favourably and that there was the strong possibility of Ladakh getting the status of a full-fledged division very soon. When granted, Ladakh would have its own divisional commissioner. Not just this, it would have offices of 40-odd directorates. This would help the region in a big way as the people of the region would be required to visit Srinagar during the summer months to get even their normal works done.
But more than that, the grant of divisional status to Ladakh would not only end the Kashmir's monopoly over Ladakh but would also strengthen this frontier region. Besides, it could pave way for the reorganization of the whole state on a regional basis.
It needs to be noted that Ladakh is administratively part of the Kashmir division and the people of the region have to come to Srinagar to get their work done as the offices of all directorates are located in Srinagar and the headquarter of the Divisional Commissioner is also located in Srinagar. |
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