JK News Today Commentary
Jammu: Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave a grand strategic gift to the people of Ladakh the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami – Monday – by announcing five new districts for an all-time strategic region of Ladakh, which the locals believe will empower them and help them so many problems posed by long distances and vagaries of weather .
This morning Home Minister in his post on social media platform X,” In pursuit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ‘s vision to build a developed and prosperous Ladakh, the Ministry of Home Affairs ( MHA) has decided to create five more districts in the union territory.”
He said that the new districts , namely Zanskar, Drass , Sham , Nubra and Changthang will take the benefit meant for the people to their doorsteps by bolstering governance in every nook and cranny . The Modi Government , Amit Shah noted is “ committed to creating abundant opportunities for the people of Ladakh.”
After the formation of these five districts, there will now be a total of seven districts in Ladakh, including Leh and Kargil..
The strategic importance of this decision of Home Minister, which has been hailed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a step toward better governance , can be gauged by the fact that the whole region is strategically important for the country, for it houses huge amount of glaciers , borders Pakistan, Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir , including Gilgit Baltistan , and home to Siachen glacier reckoned as highest battleground in the world .
In the past four and a half years , China has inflicted a stand off in eastern Ladakh , which has given a peep into the threat that the region faces from China . The Indian army moved fast and checked the designs of PLA troops . This is a tense situation and Indian government , in particular , Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar has stated it repeatedly that normal ties with Beijing were not possible until or unless the standoff situation is there and China goes back to its original position .
Secondly, no body has forgotten Kargil war, though it is now 35 year old . Pakistan did a lot of bad things forcing India to war in the Kargil heights. That bad memory still lives on as Pakistan is an incorrigible neighbour .
The strategic importance of the region is not only in terms of the borders that it is having with two countries, but also because of it is a reservoir of most of the glaciers in the region that feed our rivers . There are minerals as well.
Konchan Stanzin, Councillor of Chishul in Ladakh Autonomous Hill Council, Leh , told Jak News Today on phone ,” This is a big news for us. It is welcome . It is particularly more so for Changthang, that is eastern Ladakh as it will bring administration to the doorsteps of the people . He thanked Home Minister for this highly important and gracious decision.”
Ladakh is a very large union territory in terms of area. At present, Ladakh has two districts – Leh and Kargil. It is one of the least populated areas of India. Being extremely difficult and inaccessible, at present the district administration was facing many difficulties in reaching the grassroots level. After the formation of these districts, now all the public welfare schemes of the Central Government and Ladakh Administration will be able to reach the people easily and more and more people will be able to take advantage of them. This important decision of MHA will prove to be very useful in the all-round development of Ladakh.
Along with giving “in-principle approval” for the formation of five new districts, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the Ladakh administration to form a committee to assess various aspects related to the formation of new districts, such as headquarters, boundaries, structure, creation of posts, any other aspect related to the formation of district etc. and submit its report within three months. After receiving the report of the said committee, the Union Territory of Ladakh will send the final proposal regarding the creation of new districts on the basis of this report to the Home Ministry for further action.
This shows how serious and sincere is Modi government toward the people of Ladakh . They might be miles away in physical distance but they live in the hearts of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
