The Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), the standard-bearer for the Ladakhi agitation since 1989, has been branching out into new activities, extending the scope of its fight against "social evils".
On 2 January, the Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG) called a meeting of representatives of the LBA, the local administration, village headmen, and the police and power departments. The topic of discussion was the problem of illegal consumption of electricity in the town. The diesel generator that supplies power to the valley has a very limited capacity. Its power supply is supposed to be supplemented by a line from the Stakna Hydel Project. However, in summer it silts up, and in winter it freezes. So, most of the time it falls on the diesel generator to fulfil Leh's demand for electricity.
Leh winters are cold. Fuel for heating, be it wood, coal, or kerosene, is expensive. The low electricity rates make electric space heaters attractive, and their overuse by practically every household drains the power supply. Even though the rules ban use of electricity supply for more than a few lightbulbs and the odd TV or VCR, the lights in Leh were burning dim. And even this poor trickle was not always available due to the load-shedding which was rotated among the various localities.
LEDeG figured, correctly, that if there were no illegal heaters, everyone would have power every day, and at higher voltage. The lights would burn brighter. All present at the meeting agreed, and the LBA stepped forward and volunteered to go around 'educating' the populace.