The protests come after over three years of abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of erstwhile J&K state into two Union territories– Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
“We accepted the formation of UT without a legislature as democratic devolution of power for autonomy, but later we realised it was centralisation," Hindustan Times quoted educationist Sonam Wangchuk as saying.
Wangchuk, whose story inspired the Bollywood film '3 Idiots', staged a 5-day hunger strike in Khardung-la demanding safety for the region's fragile ecology.