Leh: The Eco Pad Yatra led by Buddhist spiritual and religious leader His Eminence Palga Rinpoche was called off in the union territory of Ladakh
The yatra was scheduled to stress their demand for construction of a monastery (Gompa) in the Muslim-dominated township of Kargil .
As per reports, this rally is being known as Eco Pad Yatra was started from Leh a few days ago and has reached Mulbek, a Buddhist centre near Kargil. It was set to move towards the Kargil maintown, where Muslim religious organisations had expressed their reservations, terming it a breach of an agreement between the leadership of the LBA and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).
Ladakh is a province with Leh and Kargil districts. LBA Leh was against the rally, but LBA Kargil wanted to hold it. They have called it off minutes before it was set to begin. Both the LBA and KDA are influential political bodies based in Leh and Kargil. The LBA is headed by region’s seniormost leader Thupstan Chhewang, a two-time Member of Parliament from Ladakh and former Bharatiya Janata Party leader.
A strong supporter of dialogue, Chhewang is not in favour of the rally, saying it is “politically motivated” and designed to subvert peace in the sensitive region which shares borders with China and Pakistan.
What is “KDA-LBA AGREEMENT”?
The Kargil township, located on the banks of the Indus river and locally called Suru, is crunched for land. In the past, the government has struggled to put up a decent hospital, college or a sports stadium. In the past few months, the KDA and LBA have held a series of meetings over the Gompa land. Leaders of both the LBA and KDA had resolved to find a permanent solution to the issue through dialogue.
The Kargil unit of the LBA, however, is adamant on taking out a rally and holding a symbolic puja near a decrepit site they claim had been earmarked for a Gompa construction in 1961. However, the KDA, an umbrella organisation of social and religious organisations in Kargil, said then government of Jammu and Kashmir had scrapped the use of the land for religious activities in 1969.
Sajad Kargili, a prominent leader from Kargil, said the LBA and KDA are already in discussion and they would find The KDA and LBA have been fighting unitedly for constitutional safeguards and statehood for whole of the Ladakh region.
Skarma Dadul, Kargil-based LBA president, said BJP Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal told their spiritual guru Palga Rinpoche that the government would restore the order of 1961, as per which Gompa would be constructed in Kargil main town.
He said the Buddhist community would not back off from their demand and want to build a Gompa on the land identified six decades ago.
