Padma Shri for linking Zanskar valley with Darcha

Himachal Pradesh Polity and Governance

Social worker Tsultrim Chonjor of Stongde village in Ladakh has been named for the Padma Shri award for his social work. He has dedicated his life and property to social cause.
Chonjor’s social work came to notice when he constructed a 38-km-long stretch of road from Kargyak village in the Zanskar valley of the Ladakh region towards Darcha village in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh via Shinku La from May 2014 to June 2017. He spent Rs 57 lakh from his own pocket and sold his ancestral property to construct the road.
He was a government employee, who had worked with the state Handicrafts Department from 1965 to 2000. He was unhappy as the region lacked road connectivity.
The social work of Chanjor was recognised by the Border Roads Organisation authority, which later took the responsibility of constructing the road from Darcha ahead of Shinkula Pass in Lahaul Spiti towards Padum village, the main headquarters of the Zanskar valley in the Ladakh region.