| News Details |
| New Ladakh Movement (NLM) announces to plunge in forthcoming LAHDC elections in Leh | | Sonam Wangchuk to lead from the front. | 
Leh (Ladakh, August 30, (Scoop News)-New Ladakh Movement (NLM), led by Sonam Wangchuk, has announced to plunge in the forthcoming LAHDC elections.
In a statement on Sunday, he said the party will strive to implement the Ladakh Vision Document in letter and re energised spirit by projecting clean youth to lead the administration in Leh district of Ladakh region.
"In view of the losses Ladakhi people are suffering due the disunity among our leaders and political parties… be that in the case of the recent floods of Phugtal or August flash floods in Leh and Kargil or the fact that Ladakh remains the most disconnected people in the nation even after 68 years of independence", Wangchuk fumed.
"Today we are a place where internet does not work and air travel has become an exploitative business", he charged.
Wangchuk said today people needed unity and freshness of ideas to make Ladakh a glorious region it once was in the 90s after the Hill Counicl was newly formed and also necessitated to reverse the trends of uncontrolled urban migration due to which on one hand our villagers are dying and on the other hand our city Leh has become unlivable with all kinds of pollution and now crimes.
"NLM has decided to start a unifying youth initiative whereby not only youth leaders from NLM but other political parties will be invited to form a coalition to unitedly bring back the glory and seriousness of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council", he asserted and said "In short NLM wants to put Ladakh back on the path of self-reliance, selflessness and dignity and for this we want to focus on improving our education, economy and ecology".
Highlighting some of the points of NLM Manifesto, he said the new Hill Council will comprise of at least 80 percent youth and in order to promote true equality to women the new council will encourage women to fill at least 40 percent of the seats i.e. 12 out of 30 councillor seats.
Wangchuk assured the members will work to end corruption by setting examples and said if elected to power the ECs will give up the palatial EC residences to Women’s hostels for college girls from remote areas.
Similarly , he said they will give half of their own salaries to fund the hostel mess for these students. Having set such examples, there will then be Zero tolerance for corruption and nepotism in the system.
On education, NLM leader said government schools will become vibrant and world class especially in the villages. "For this cooperation will be sought from all the private schools in Leh since Ladakh is fortunate to have mainly charitable private schools", he said.
The elected representatives of the Hill Council will set example for others, and in fact for the nation by sending their own children into government schools, Wangchuk said adding, this will make them interested and invested in the system and finally lead to an overhaul of the system and thus pave the way for other government functionaries and teachers to send their own children into government schools.
A world class innovative Alternative International University will be set up near Phyang village which will solve the problem of Ladakhi youth being forced to become educational refugees in other cities.
In agriculture sector he said, the focus will be on making Ladakhi villages sustainable and viable again. At present farming in Ladakh has become a lifeless corpse.
"Advocacy with central government to convert the subsidy money used on supplying rationed rice and wheat from Punjab, which is causing many health problems, to be used to encourage Ladakhi farmers to supply organic products in the PDS system", NLM leader assured.
Farming shall be made a viable career choice for youth by raising farmer’s income with a two pronged strategy.
a. Training and supporting farmers to produce high value non-traditional crops like out of season vegetables, herbs etc. for national and international export.
b. Adding value to traditionally crops such as Ladakhi high altitude barley to market as health foods globally. For example Ngamthuk (instant barley soup) could be positioned to replace Maggie noodles and Yos roasted barley could replace snacks like Uncle Chips.
c. Tree plantation is the most paying of all businesses in Ladakh. Famers will be encouraged to grow trees using innovative water conservation ideas like artificial glaciers to augment their income and to save the planet.
Recognising the fact that every Ladakhi, no matter what profession he/she pursues is also a farmer, the new Hill Council will make Ladakh a five days a week work zone in summer. This way all the employees and students will be encouraged to return to their villages to practice farming on weekends. This may bring back our healthy social traditions of Bes and Langrde. The physical excercise will also save Ladakhis of all the lifestyle related diseases like obesity and diabetes.
On Tourism he said all out efforts will be made to redistribute tourism so that it is not concentrated in Leh city. Home stay and agro-tourism will be promoted in all the villages so that villagers, especially women, will get a new source of income in the village itself. This will also bring the markets into the village itself, for their agro-products and handicrafts produced during the winter.
Young educated unemployed women would be empowered and trained to play the role of travel business entrepreneurs who develop this new type of tourism all over Ladakh with the help of investors from around the world, NLM leader said adding, Ladakh will become an organic, clean and green destination as envisioned in the vision document Ladakh 2025.
Speaking on road connectivity, Wangchuk said all out efforts will be made for total connectivity of Ladakh. Digital connectivity through reliable broadband facilities will be a priority in the short term as this directly affects the people engaged in education and travel business in this otherwise remote and cut off region.
He said surface connectivity, whether it is the Zojila tunnel or the Zanskar Himachal roadway or the Khardungla tunnel, will be a top priority of the Council.
"With a Ladakhi leadership united, the exploitative airfares will soon be a thing of the past", he assured.
Highlighting the preventive measures NLM would take in case of a natural disaster, he said the party will work towards short term and long term measures and investment to prepare and protect Ladakh in every way from natural calamities like flash floods. "Efforts will be made to convert the problem of excess water into an opportunity through research and development by taming flood waters for greening deserts", he averred.
" We shall prepare and train public and masons/builders about the possibility of a major Nepal like earthquake in Ladakh", Wanchug felt.(Scoop News)
... |
| |
|
|
Share this Story |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|