Ganga set to become seasonal river soon, says Sonam Wangchuk

“It is not easy to put a timeline by when this might happen, but some reports have said this could be the case in about 30 years. It should not take that long given the glaciers are going very fast,” Wangchuk told Deccan Chronicle in an interview.

“Very soon, the rivers we celebrate, Ganga where the Maha Kumbh is happening, and Yamuna, and others will become seasonal rivers. There will be nothing left in the mountains to keep them flowing.”

Wangchuck was in the city recently to thank Hyderabadis for their support to the struggle of the people of Ladakh, be it their long bruising march to Delhi to highlight the problems in the region, and the weeks-long fast by people from Ladakh to force the government to take notice of the issues.

Wangchuk said there was a time when Ladakh was not on the radar of the people. The march from Leh to Delhi last year, and the subsequent fast by Wangchuk and others that followed took the climate, people, and political crises in Ladakh to the rest of the country and the world resulting in support coming from all over India and many other parts of the world.

Wanghuck said much of what happened so far was more of a lip service from the government. “I do not have much expectations from leaders or a general or a prime minister but when people say no, this must not be done, or this must be done, then government will follow as they do not want to displease the people,” he said.

That is why, he said, it was likely that the government was compelled to hold talks. “Not because a handful of people in the mountains have a loud voice, but it is because of people from Hyderabad, from Chennai, Mumbai, and several other cities who spoke up for us,” he said.

However, Wangchuk does not see anything happening soon on problems Ladakh faces. “Meetings are held for two hours once every two months or so. These are namesake meetings. What can be achieved in two hours?”

“We may have to march again to Delhi if the intentions, which the government says are right, do not translate into action. And the next march will be in February when the passes are closed, full of snow and the marchers will have to risk their lives to make the government listen to Ladakh,” Wangchuk said.

Ladakh, he said, was at the front and top of the climate change consequences, and politically, has become voiceless. “Our Assembly is disbanded. The Hill Council election is in nine months, we think that will be suspended just as the panchayats and the Leh municipal committee which are. All forms of democracy are suspended or may be suspended robbing people of their voices,” he said.

On the ecological front, Wangchuk raised a serious question on just how carbon neutral Ladakh can be despite claims to make the region such by the Central government. “The Lt Governor’s house is not carbon neutral. Even the Secretariat is not carbon neutral. There is a difference between words and deeds,” he said.

Then there are much broader issues that must be attended to before the region gets destroyed climatically and its cascading effects can be felt on the rest of the country. “Our region continues to have issues with all kinds of huge projects from both sides, from India and China.

The Himalayan people were squeezed between two giants. “In Ladakh our shepherds and nomads are squeezed by incursions from China, and from Indian corporates who are coming up with huge power projects, and searching for minerals. India, China and six other countries depend on the Himalayas. They must respect them, save our rivers, and future generations,” Wangchuk said.