Firdous Hassan
Srinagar: Eyes swelled with tears and emotions ran high when 79-year-old Lama Tsultrim Chonjor traveled on Padum- Darcha road connecting Zanskar with Himachal Pradesh.
For Chonjor, it was a long-cherished dream to see a motorable road in his village before he leaves for the heavenly abode. A man who dedicated his life to spreading the message of Lord Buddha, the pain of people traveling 148 kilometers on horseback to buy essentials in Himachal Pradesh was something that he could not endure.
A project started by Border Road Organization (BRO) back in 2000 to connect Padum town, the administrative center of Zanskar, with Darcha in Kellum district of Himachal Pradesh via Shinkula pass had been stalled due to 38-kilometer long Lungnak hillock.
Come 2014, he decided to remove 38 –kilometer-long block to pave the way for the construction of Padum- Darcha road. So one fine morning, he sold his entire property to hire men and machinery for removing the hillock.
Out of nearly Rs 80 lakh, he donated Rs 57 lakhs from his own pocket and spent four years out of the home to build the road.
“Our villagers would travel to Himachal to fetch essentials and the majority of their money would get spend on fair. In 2014, I decided to do something for making the journey to Himachal easy for the people,” Chonjor, who is popularly known as Meme Chonjor, told The Kashmir Monitor.
Seeing his dedication, local administration too chipped in with help. Local councilor donated Rs 5 lakh and a merchant pledged Rs 2.5 lakh.
“Out of the total cost, I got 15 percent as donations from the people. Some gave me money, some donated horses and donkeys in desperation to see a road. I hired a JCB for the entire four years and utilized three donkeys to build this road,” Chonjor said.
It was in 2017, that Chonjor finally completed the road connecting his village to Himachal Pradesh. “People were relieved and the journey to Himachal Pradesh became easy. I feel immense happiness that people from Padum travel frequently to Himachal Pradesh to buy essentials,” he said.
After Chonjor’s efforts, Border Roads Organization completed the construction of a 140 km-long road between Darcha in Himachal Pradesh to Padum town, via 16,500 feet high Shinkula pass.
From Padum, the road passes through Nimoo village in Leh district. Later BRO took up the widening of the road to facilitate two-way traffic between Zanskar and Darcha.
While the road between Himachal to Zanskar is now a reality, it has been full of challenges for Chonjor given the extreme weather conditions.
As per the locals, working on the road under minus 30 degree Celsius and frequent questioning over his funding have been a challenge for Chonjor.
His real-life struggle has coincided with Dashrath Manjhi, the villager from Bihar who carved a path through a hillock using only a hammer and chisel.
This Republic Day, Chonjor was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honor, for social work.
In 2019, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, and the district administration honored him for “playing an extraordinary role to construct the road between Padum to Darcha, all by himself.
“The essentials which are bought from Kargil or Leh would cost us nearly 70 percent more than the actual price. It is Meme Chonjor’s services and determination which have made the lives of people of Zanskar easy and comfortable,” said Phuntsog Tashi, a councilor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) from Zanskar.
