Demand for new dists, Assembly seats grows louder in Ladakh region

Our Correspondent

Leh, August 1

With speculation about the appointment of a new delimitation commission for the enhancement of Assembly constituencies, people from different walks of life in the Ladakh region have started raising their demand for separate Assembly seats and creation of districts in their respective areas.

People of Changthang, Shaam, Zanaska, Drass and Turtuk have been demanding Assembly seats for their respective region. However, the Shaam region and the Turtuk areas in the Nubra valley have started a movement of raising their demands through major platforms. After a massive protest rally in Leh town this week by people of the Shaam region, residents of the Turtuk valley have also started raising their demands.

To carry forward their demand to the higher authorities, a delegation of people representing all sections of society of Turtuk travelled a long way to address its first ever press meet in Leh town on Wednesday.

Reiterating their demand for a separate Assembly segment from the Nubra seat, the delegation claimed that people of Turtuk had a legitimate right to get one seat from the already reserved 24 seats for the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the state Assembly as Turtuk was liberated from Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

The delegation, consisting of Yurtul sarpanch Youl Anayat Ul Allah, former executive councillor of LAHDC (Leh) Mohd Khan, former Turtuk councillor Abdul Ali and two other social activists Ghulam Hussain and Ibrahim Sani, jointly stressed that the government should consider their demands to ensure inclusive growth and prosperity. A memorandum addressed to Governor Satya Pal Malik has been submitted through the Leh Deputy Commissioner.