Leh, Kargil students cut off from their families for six months

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 12

With heavy snowfall leading to the closure of strategic highways connecting Ladakh with the rest of India, thousands of students from the region have been cut off from their families for the next six months.

The 430-km Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway, passing through Zojila, was closed on December 10.

Nearly 8,000 students from Kargil and Leh districts are studying in Jammu alone while thousands of others are scattered in Chandigarh and New Delhi. In winter, their number swells as more youth travel outside the region to attend coaching classes for various examinations. Though air connectivity is an option, it is very expensive and operates on a few selected days of week, leaving students, especially girls, out of touch with their families during the harsh winter in the region where temperature falls to minus 40° Celsius.

The government-run helicopter service from Srinagar during the winter, too, is operational on a few days of the week and in case of any emergency, people are left in the lurch. Kargil and Leh districts have population of 2.35 lakh.

“Only a few can afford to travel by air during the winter, others are practically cut off from their families. The government needs to give special attention to problems of people living in cold regions. It should come up with some solution to improve connectivity,” said Tsering Norphel, a PhD scholar at Jammu University. As thick Himalayan snow blocks the mountain passes, another road link through Himanchal Pradesh, the 480-km Manali-Rohtang-Leh highway also shuts during winter months.

“It is quite challenging for girls as parents always remain apprehensive about our well being. Extreme cold and remoteness also disrupts mobile connectivity, especially in rural areas,” said Phunchok Angmo, a girl from Leh, who heads All Ladakh Students Association (Jammu). Things are worse in Kargil district as students from the area face insurmountable obstacles to visit their families during winter. Even if we travel by air, first we have to land at Leh and then take a vehicle to Kargil. It takes two or more days to reach our home,” said Zakir Hussain, a scholar at Jammu University.