Leh, June 18th: Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent engineer whose life inspired a character in the Bollywood blockbuster “3 Idiots,” launched a seven-day hunger strike here on Sunday in support of his campaign to protect Ladakh's fragile environment.
Wangchuk's ‘climatic fast' comes a day before talks between the Ministry of Home Affairs and a six-member joint delegation of the Leh-based Apex body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) seeking full statehood, constitutional safeguards under the sixth schedule, separate Lok Sabha seats for the two districts, and recruitment and job reservation for Ladakh's youth.
“We have dedicated the first day of the climatic fast for the success of the talks between the central government and our leaders,” Wangchuk, who was joined by a large number of locals at NDS Stadium, told reporters.
Thousands more, he said, are fasting and praying across Ladakh. “In terms of both the environment and the presence of China and Pakistan across its borders, Ladakh is a sensitive and critical region.” “We want a peaceful resolution to our problems without any disruption or agitation,” he said.
Wangchuk welcomed the start of talks between the Centre and Ladakh's leaders, saying, “We are hopeful of a positive outcome that will benefit our future generations.” According to the education reformist, Ladakh has seen significant development since gaining union territory status in 2019, but has lost “the safeguards for its environment, land, culture, and democratic rights.”
Wangchuk stated that another motivation for his fast is to draw the attention of people all over the world, particularly those living in cities, to make the necessary lifestyle changes to save the environment.
“My appeal to the people is to live simply in the big cities so that we can simply survive in the mountains.” “My fast serves as a wake-up call to the world that we must make the necessary changes to reverse global warming, which is affecting our mountains and glaciers and endangering the lives of people and animals,” he said.
Wangchuk stated that his fast is in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ‘Mission Life' initiative, which aims to mobilise at least one billion Indians and other global citizens to take individual and collective action for environmental protection and preservation from 2022 to 2027.
“We launched the ‘ilivesimply.org' website four years ago. I encourage people to visit the website and make a commitment to change their lifestyle. “I want at least seven lakh pledges, and I will break my fast the day that happens,” he said.
Wangchuk, who had previously staged a five-day hunger strike in January, has said he will extend the fast for seven days if the target of seven lakh pledges is not met by then. “It will be followed by more such climatic fasts to rally public support.” (Agencies)
