New Delhi: According to Konchok Stanzin, a councillor from Chushul in Ladakh, villagers have lost access to a large grazing area close to Gogra in eastern Ladakh due to rising Chinese presence in the area, The Hindu has reported.
Gogra was one of several flashpoints in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese forces had been at odds since April-May 2020.
The border standoff between India and China erupted on May 5 last year which flared up fatally in June 2020, leading to the death of 20 Indian soldiers. As a result, both sides increased their deployment by placing tens of thousands of troops as well as heavy weaponry.
However, after a series of diplomatic and military engagements, the two sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the North and South banks of Pangong lake in February 2021. The disengagement process was further carried out in August over two days in the areas of Gogra. The troops of both sides are now officially in their respective permanent bases.
Troops have, according to Stanzin, blocked villagers from accessing the Kiu La pass, which had been earlier used for cattle grazing by locals of Lukung, Phobrang, and Yourgo.
“A group of villagers marched to the Kiu La pass a few days ago but they were denied access by the Army. There used to be a bunker on the upper reaches, but it is no longer there. We fear that the Chinese are nibbling away at our territory. This was never a disputed area,” Stanzin told Hindu.
He went on to say that the area lacked internet and phone services and that authorities only fix lines when a VIP arrives.
The Hindu report also mentions that Chinese soldiers have prevented Indian forces from reaching at least 10 patrolling points (PPs) in east Ladakh, since April 2020. The area stretches from the Depsang plains to the Pangong Tso lake. There are more than 65 PPs in total from the Karakoram base to Chumar.
Stanzin claimed that China has built permanent infrastructure and roads near the LAC, whereas the Indian side has only a few roads.
In a communication to Stanzin on April 2, the Ministry of Defence stated that “grazers have been asked to restrict their cattle movements due to the current operational situation in Ladakh.”
An Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper flies over the Ladakh region during the prolonged India-China standoff, in Leh. Photo: PTI
In August, Sushant Singh wrote on Gogra and the necessity of a buffer zone, saying:
“If the PLA had intruded into the Indian side of the LAC, and has now decided to step back from the point of intrusion by forcing India to move back an equal distance, the whole of the buffer zone is evidently on the Indian side of the LAC. In other words, the Chinese have de facto shifted the LAC further westwards into Indian territory, as per the disengagement agreement”.
According to Singh, the situation is similar to the aftermath of the Doklam crisis in 2017 when “disengagement” was announced by India. As part of the agreement, the Indian soldiers came back to their permanent posts. However, the PLA soldiers stepped back by only 150 metres and created a full-fledged permanent military base in the Doklam area.
According to the report, the PLA has transgressed onto the Indian side of the LAC in Ladakh at least in three areas: Demchok, Hot Springs and Depsang. As per media reports, the Chinese have even refused to discuss these three areas. The Indian statement over the issue hopes that both sides will “resolve the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector” which will be on test in the future, particularly on the thorny and strategically important issue of Depsang.
