Sonam Wangchuk withdraws call for march to LAC, cites ‘suppression’ attempts, govt ‘overreaction’
Wangchuk said with the imposition of Section 144, curtailment of Internet and restrictions on movement, the UT administration had turned Leh “into a war-like zone with armed barricades” on roads.
Wangchuk, who recently sat on a 21-day fast seeking safeguards for Ladakh’s fragile ecology and local culture, had called for a people's march to the China border on April 7 “to see how much land locals have lost to them”. (PTI) Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has withdrawn the call for “Pashmina March” from Leh to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Sunday.
Wangchuk cited “risk of potential violence” as the reason for the decision, as the Union Territory administration has imposed Section 144 of the CrPC in the area.
Wangchuk, who recently sat on a 21-day fast seeking safeguards for Ladakh’s fragile ecology and local culture, had called for a people’s march to the China border on April 7 “to see how much land locals have lost to them”. The march was to be led by local tribal leaders.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Wangchuk said, “We have been holding peaceful demonstrations in the form of fasting and prayers over the last 35 days. We had also planned a peaceful march on April 7. The purpose of the Pashmina March was to highlight the plight of the Changpa nomadic tribes who are losing thousands of square kilometres of their land due to Chinese incursion in the north and our own corporates in the south.”
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