New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS): Ladakh's Chushul Councillor Konchok Stanzin on Saturday urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for better infrastructure, mobile network, for the villages located in the areas bordering with China.
Handing over a memorandum to the LS Speaker on Saturday, Stanzin raised the issue of hardships of the people residing at the border areas in extreme hostile conditions. Stanzin said that these people need education, employment opportunities and better health infrastructure.
Birla was on the tour of the Union Territory of Ladakh in connection with the inauguration of the Parliamentary Outreach Programme for the empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions on Friday at the Sindhu Sanskritik Kendra in Leh and during his visit to the famous Pangong Tso lake the local councillor appraised him of these hardships.
Stanzin told the LS Speaker that without a strong border infrastructure and modern amenities, one can never feel confident as far as security was concerned. "Mobile connectivity and universal internet coverage of all border villages is the skeleton of a smart security policy of any country. Sadly, India, our country, is yet to realise this basic principle of border security. Cities have multiple internet service providers, whereas the people of border areas remain cut off, needing to travel hundreds of Kilometers towards Leh to get mobile and internet networks", the councillor said in his memorandum.
Urging him to intervene in getting 4G mobile towers sanctioned by the government for border villages like Lukung, Phobrang, Maan, Merak, Chushul, Satoo and Bharma in Kargyam, the local public representative also drew his attention towards power connection of Durbuk Block and other border areas in Changthang to be connected to the Northern grid for uninterrupted power supply.
Referring to the recently laid optical fibre cable to the Merak and Khakted villages by the Indian Army, he also requested the visiting dignitary to get it extended to other villages for smooth internet coverage.
Besides these, Stanzin also urged the establishment of medical centres, schools and college in the Chushul constituency and also requested a special quota for youth of the border villages in Defence and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) recruitment.
Raising another demand to carve out Changthang as a separate district, the Chushul Councillor said, "In order to fast-track and streamline the development process in border areas, a separate district status will go a long way in fulfilling the aspirations of the people."
Chushul is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh and it is located in the Durbuk tehsil, in the area known as "Chushul Valley", south of the Pangong Lake and west of the Spanggur Lake. The Line of Actual Control with China runs about five miles east of Chushul, across the Chushul Valley. India and China share boundary in the Ladakh region wherein the two nations have been in strained relationship over the border disputes, however, they disengaged from Pangong Tso areas in February this year.