On way to Delhi from Ladakh, Wangchuk and team halt at Chandigarh

"We have chosen the path of Gandhi to raise awareness among the masses to save the Himalayas and our resources," said 58-year-old innovator and engineer Sonam Wangchuk in Chandigarh on Friday. Embarking on a foot-march from Leh on September 1, Wangchuk plans to reach Rajghat in New Delhi on the birth anniversary of Gandhi on October 2.

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Sonam Wangchuk will hold a seminar at the auditorium of Dr SS Bhatnagar University Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Panjab University, at 12 noon on Saturday.

Accompanied by around 100 people, including 20 ex-servicemen, Wangchuk has also been demanding that Ladakh be brought under the ambit of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which establishes autonomous mechanisms for governance. "This was promised to us in the manifesto by the present government before the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. We do not have a problem with Ladakh being declared a Union Territory, but we want our voices to be heard, for which a legislature is necessary," he asserted.

"I am an 80-year-old ex-army man. For most part of my life, I have seen Ladakh in pristine natural conditions. But for the past 20-25 years, we have been facing environmental issues. Pollution is on the rise and the resources at our disposal are being exploited by everyone," said Sonam Wangdus, sitting inside the langar hall of the Sector 38 gurdwara with feet bandaged due to blisters.

"It is not just about us, it concerns everyone. Rivers that make the plains fertile originate from the Himalayas," said Rigzin Wangdus, a 67-year-old farmer.

Wangchuk also said that just as they avoided marching through Kashmir due to the elections, they would avoid Haryana, too. "We do not want to get involved in local politics," he stated.