Leh: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has strongly criticised the Ladakh administration over a notice directing the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL) to halt activities at Desert Flower School in Phyang until the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh decides the matter.
Taking to social media, Wangchuk described the administration’s action as a “shahi farmaan” and questioned its priorities with the pointed remark, “Close schools and open liquor bars.”
The controversy follows a notice issued by the Office of the Tehsildar, Leh, asking HIAL, co-founded by Wangchuk and Gitanjali J Angmo, not to undertake further activities at the school until the court delivers its decision or issues further directions.
According to reports, the administration cited the commencement of classes and other activities without the requisite consent, clearances or approvals from the concerned authorities. The notice also referred to a request submitted by Angmo to the Deputy Commissioner, Leh, on September 22, seeking a no-objection certificate or clearance for proposed members of the school’s managing committee.
Wangchuk defended HIAL’s work, arguing that the institution had received recognition from India’s Parliamentary Committee on Education, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and TIME magazine through its TIME 100 Climate Solutions initiative.
“There’s a lot of raita spread on internet/news about our school,” he said, questioning why the institution was facing closure despite the recognition it had received.
He also urged media organisations that had covered the Lieutenant Governor’s administration’s press conference to give space to HIAL’s response, calling for fairness in coverage and referring to India’s position on the Global Press Freedom Index.
The dispute places the future of activities at Desert Flower School at the centre of a wider confrontation between HIAL and the Ladakh administration. The administration’s position, as reflected in the notice, is that the school’s activities should remain suspended pending the court’s decision or further directions. [KNT]
