Excelsior Correspondent
LADAKH, Mar 5: Demanding establishment of a Government Degree College in the area, which was sanctioned earlier by then PDP-BJP Government, locals of Turtuk block in Ladakh today held a massive protest demonstration and took out a rally in the area.
Besides local students, including girls, inhabitants of the villages of Thang, Tyakshi, Turtuk, Chulunkha, Bogdang, Grardi, Changmar and adjoining areas took part in the protest. They were raising slogans and carrying banners and placards in support of their demand.
Prominent locals, Sarpanches and All Balti Students Association, Nubra (Ladakh), led the protest march, which culminated at the block headquarters where a memorandum, addressed to Governor Satya Pal Malik, was submitted.
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In the memorandum, the people explained that a Government Degree College was sanctioned for Turtuk by then PDP-BJP Government keeping in view the backwardness of this area, which was part of PoK (Gilgit-Baltistan) before 1971 war when it was liberated by India. Turtuk block is 209 kms away from district headquarters. The nearest Degree College for the locals of Turtuk is at Deskit Nobra, which is also at a distance of 92-110 kms from these villages. The number of students enrolled in the Higher secondary Schools in Turtuk block is more than 500 and 70 percent of them are girls, who are forced to discontinue their further studies because of no college in the area, the memorandum said.
The college sanctioned by the PDP-BJP Government for Turtuk vide Government order number 328 HE of 2018, dated 27-04-2018 was to be made functional from last academic session but the same was not done. Following the collapse of popular Government, the Governor’s administration had cancelled sanctioning of all the new colleges and a fresh list of 42 colleges was prepared, in which Turtuk was missing. Even as the Governor personally assured to a delegation of the Turtuk locals, who called on him January last, that he would sanction a college for the area from his own kitty of 10 colleges, the same was not done.
The protesting people appealed the Governor to either revoke his earlier order of cancelling the colleges sanctioned by previous Government or issue a fresh order for sanctioning new college at Turtuk. They vowed to continue the struggle till Government announces new college for the area.
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