In a surprise move, the BJP government on Monday announced the creation of five new districts in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh.
The new districts are Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra and Changthang.
The announcement of creating the new districts was made by Home Minister Amit Shah on his X handle.
With this, the number of districts in Ladakh has increased to seven. The UT so far had only two districts — Leh and Kargil.
The Home Minister wrote on X; “In pursuit of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s vision to build a developed and prosperous Ladakh, the MHA has decided to create five new districts in the union territory. The new districts, namely Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra and Changthang, will take the benefits meant for the people to their doorsteps by bolstering governance in every nook and cranny. The Modi government is committed to creating abundant opportunities for the people of Ladakh”.
People of Ladakh have been demanding statehood, separate assembly and protection under the Sixth Schedule.
The BJP lost the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat in the recent elections.
The Ladakh Apex Body, which is spearheading an agitation, had last week announced a month-long march from Ladakh to Delhi from 1 September to 2 October on Gandhi Jayanti in support of their demands.