Ladakh innovator said to be detained after fasting, officials deny allegation

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Mr. Wangchuk, 56, began his five-day fast on Thursday in Phyang, Leh.

New Delhi:

Ladakh’s leading environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk today claimed he was detained by the Union Territory Administration after his swift protest demanding special status for Leh. The authorities, however, denied any detention. Mr. Wangchuk said yesterday that the administration wanted to “silence” him for the protest against the destruction of the region’s ecology and unsustainable development.

The Union Territory Administration said he wanted to demonstrate in Khardung La, but permission was denied.

The Ladakh administration wants Mr Wangchuk to sign a bond promising not to make any statement for a month about recent events in Leh. He is not to attend any public gatherings, for a month, over recent developments in Leh, now bristling with protests demanding special status under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, the link adds.

Mr Wangchuk, 56, began his five-day fast on Thursday in Phyang, Leh, where the nighttime temperature is minus 20 degrees Celsius. He had previously alleged that he had been under house arrest.

He had also tweeted a copy of what he claimed was the bond he had been asked to sign to ensure he would not make any statements or attend public meetings for a month.

“I am under house arrest. In fact, much worse than that. If you are under house arrest, you know the rules clearly and you can even explore legal ways to counter it. But at the moment I am detained in our institute . and my movements are restricted,” Mr Wangchuk, wrapped in a blanket amid snow-capped mountains, told NDTV in a video statement.

He co-founded the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Ladakh, or HIAL, for which he fasted. Mr Wangchuk had planned his fast at Khardung La Pass, where the temperature could drop to minus 40 degrees Celsius. He alleged that the administration was trying to prevent him from reaching Khardung La pass.

Calling for preventive measures, he said unsustainable industries, tourism and trade will continue to proliferate in Ladakh and eventually finish off the region.

He also called on the government to include the region in Schedule 6 of the Constitution, which authorizes the administration of certain tribal areas as self-governing entities.

Sonam Wangchuk’s life inspired Bollywood actor Aamir Khan’s character in the 2009 film 3 Idiots. He also received the Magsaysay award in 2018.

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