Leh, August 31
Cancellation of the annual Ladakh Festival, which would have begun tomorrow, means a loss of crores but survivors of the recent flash floods resolutely mourn the dead.

On the eve of the annual, two-week Ladakh Festival, city markets are deserted. Shopkeepers sit outside their shops waiting for customers. Hoteliers have virtually halved room tariffs from Rs 1,800 to Rs 900-1,000. The festival venue, Polo Ground, has been converted into a parking lot. Trucks, cars and other vehicles are parked there.

“Bodies are still being extricated… how can we even think of a celebration?” asks shopkeeper Tashi Angchok. “The money we make during the 15-day celebrations lasts through the year. Undoubtedly, we’ll face great hardship in the coming months, but that’s not the point,” says the owner of the Pashmina Boutique in the Main Bazaar here.

The Ladakh Festival sees both foreign and domestic tourists flock the valley and is one of the main sources of income for locals. What they earn during this period usually lasts till the next tourist season. This year, Leh was expecting to register a record increase in tourist footfall until Nature unravelled its plans.

After mid-September, very few tourists visit Leh. Even locals stay indoors as the biting chill sets in. T. Wangchuk, assistant director with the J&K Information Department at Leh says, “No celebration means a loss of crores. It will take Leh a long time to recover. After the catastrophe, tourists left the town and even if celebrations proceeded as usual, it wouldn’t have been of any use.”

The Ladakh festival is also celebrated in the Nubra Valley for three days, but the people there, too, have cancelled celebrations this year.

President to visit Leh today
Archit Watts writes from Leh

Leh, August 31
The month of August, which otherwise attracts a large number of tourists, both domestic and foreigners, to Leh, is going to witness the arrival of a large number of VVIPs, not for recreational purposes, but to express their sympathies with the families of Leh cloudburst and flash flood victims.

President of India Pratibha Patil has already confirmed her visit to Choglamsar (Leh), the worst affected area, on September 1.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and president of the Shiromani Akali Dal Sukhbir Singh Badal, chief monk from Japan Acharia Ven E Warsade and his holiness Dalai Lama will visit the area on September 2, 12 and 13, respectively.

Radhaswami dera chief Sardar Gurinder Singh visited the relief camps at Choglamsar and distributed relief to the flood-hit today. He would return tomorrow. As a dera complex is being built by the followers of the sect on the outskirts of Leh, the dera chief also headed a religious congregation in the evening there.

The district administration and security personnel remained on their toes the whole day, preparing for the President’s visit. A rehearsal was also organised at the Leh-Choglamsar road. Though the President will reach here tomorrow morning, the information about the visit is being kept confidential and none of the state ministers or officials of J&K State Information Department spoke anything over the visit.

However, Deputy Commissioner, Leh, T Angchok confirmed that the President’s visit would be as per schedule tomorrow.

“We have received the schedule of VVIP’s visit from the Deputy Secretary to the Government’s General Administration Department,” said the DC.

“The President will meet food-hit in the Solar Valley of Choglamsar village. After that, she will address a gathering of troops at the Rinchen Auditorium of the Army’s 14 Corps headquarters here.”

She would land at the Kushok Bankla Rinpoche Airport here around 9.55 am and leave for Delhi after spending around three hours here.

Chief of the Army Staff VK Singh, some Union ministers, including Farooq Abdullah, J&K Governor NN Vohra, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and some Cabinet ministers of would accompany her during the visit.

The administration has not told about the President’ visit even to the flood victims so far.

Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, and Minister of State for Defence M Pallamraju had visited Leh.