Shutdown in Kargil over new division
Shops and other businesses in the landlocked district remained shut and transport services were off the roads.
Srinagar: On Monday, major parts of Kargil, including the main town, observed a shutdown to protest against the decision of the Jammu and Kashmir government to set up permanent headquarters of the newly carved out administrative and revenue division of Ladakh in Leh.
Shops and other businesses in the landlocked district remained shut and transport services were off the roads.
The call for the strike had been issued by a coordination committee of the local organisations, which has alleged that Kargil has been “neglected” and “discriminated against” by successive governments. It added that making Leh the permanent headquarters of the newly created administrative and revenue division under SRO 110 is the height of disregard to the wishes and needs of the people of Kargil.
Sajjad Kargili, the spokesman of the ‘Coordination Committee for Civil Disobedience against SRO 110,’ told reporters that the approach of governor Satya Pal Malik is “autocratic” as he is not ready to listen to the grievances of the people of Kargil. “He is wholly and solely responsible for polarising the situation,” he said. Earlier on Sunday, thousands of people had marched along the streets of Kargil to demand that Kargil and Leh be made the headquarters of the newly carved out division for six months on rotational basis.
Ladakh was part of Srinagar-based Kashmir division until now whereas Jammu region of the state has a separate administrative and revenue division headquartered in the winter capital.
An all-party meeting held in Kargil — the district headquarters of the predominantly Shia region — had unanimously decided on Saturday that all the democratically elected members of various official bodies, including the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, will resign en-mass if the demand of the local people is not conceded by the government.
There has been resentment at the government’s move to create a separate administrative and revenue division of Ladakh from other regions of the state, like Pir Panjal and the Chenab valley, where leaders have threatened to launch an agitation if similar administrative units for their regions were not created.
Meanwhile, Mr Malik said on Monday that a committee of secretaries has been formed to ensure justice with Kargil.
“The divisional status for Ladakh was a long-standing demand (of the people of the region). We have formed a committee of secretaries, which will look into the issue so that Kargil gets justice,” the governor told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Katra township of Reasi district.