THE
official cessation of military operations on July
17 notwithstanding, the war continues unabated in
Kargil, the biggest district of Jammu and
Kashmir, which was once acknowledged for its
serenity and peaceful environs. It is 204 km from
Srinagar in the west and 234 km from Leh in the
east and is the second largest urban centre of
Ladakh. It has the second lowest population
density — five persons per square km —
and has only two tehsils —Kargil and Zanskar
— and seven blocks — Dras, Kargil,
Sankoo, Zanskar, Tai-Suru, Shargol and
Shakar-Chiktan — besides 129 villages with
two uninhabitated ones — Haripore and
Batokul, both in Dras. The estimated population
of the district, according to the 1991 census,
was 81,000, which increased to 91,670 in 1995-96.
The majority of the population is Muslim,
followed by Buddhists in Zanskar tehsil and
Shargol block. A few families of Hindus and Sikhs
also live there.
THE
official cessation of military operations on July
17 notwithstanding, the war continues unabated in
Kargil, the biggest district of Jammu and
Kashmir, which was once acknowledged for its
serenity and peaceful environs. It is 204 km from
Srinagar in the west and 234 km from Leh in the
east and is the second largest urban centre of
Ladakh. It has the second lowest population
density — five persons per square km —
and has only two tehsils —Kargil and Zanskar
— and seven blocks — Dras, Kargil,
Sankoo, Zanskar, Tai-Suru, Shargol and
Shakar-Chiktan — besides 129 villages with
two uninhabitated ones — Haripore and
Batokul, both in Dras. The estimated population
of the district, according to the 1991 census,
was 81,000, which increased to 91,670 in 1995-96.
The majority of the population is Muslim,
followed by Buddhists in Zanskar tehsil and
Shargol block. A few families of Hindus and Sikhs
also live there.
