Srinagar: Administration of Ladakh on Friday ordered for enforcement of Section 144 in Leh district in view of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk proposed ‘Pashmina March’ on April 7.
The District Magistrate Leh, Santosh Sukhdeva, citing reported reliable inputs of apprehension of breach of peace and public tranquility in the district, received from Senior Superintendent of Police Leh, said in an order that it is desirable that any breach of peace, disturbance to public tranquility and danger to human life should be immediately prevented.
Exercising the powers vested in him under Section 144 of CrPC, 1973, the DM said that there shall be no procession/rally/march etc. taken out by anyone without the prior approval from the District Magistrate Leh, in writing.
“No one should use vehicles mounted or other loudspeakers without prior approval from the competent authority.”
“No public gathering without the prior approval of the competent authority shall be allowed,” said the DM.
“No one shall make any statements, which have potential to disturb the communal harmony, public tranquility and which may lead to law and order problems in the district,” the order reads.
“All the persons shall ensure that they follow the model code of conduct and that all the activities are according to the law,” reads the order.
“Any violation of the order shall invite punitive action under Section 188 of Indian Penal Code,” reads the order further.
Wangchuk is a climate activist, mechanical engineer and educator from Ladakh. He is also the Director of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL). He had received the Magsaysay Award in the year 2018.
It was Wangchuk’s personality that inspired Aamir Khan’s character Phunsukh Wangdu in the 2009 film ‘3 idiots’.
The Ladakh-based engineer is known for setting up his innovative school, the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), whose campus runs on solar energy and uses no fossil fuels for cooking, lighting, or heating.
Wangchuk ended his hunger strike after surviving for 21 days by only eating salt and drinking water recently.
He was fasting to demand statehood for Ladakh and to protect the fragile environment of the Himalayas. However, he made it clear that this was just the end of the first part of his protest, and he plans to continue fighting for his causes.
When Wangchuk started his hunger strike on March 6th, he had announced that he would continue for 21 days and might even continue until death if necessary.
