Life returned to normal on Friday inthis border district of Ladakh Union Territory (UT) after remaining crippled due to strike for three days.

Black-day was observed in Kargil district on Thursday, when R K Mathur took oath of office as first Lt Governor of the UT Ladakh at Leh.

A delegation of Kargil presented a memorandum to Mr Mathur immediately after he assumed office as Lt Governor yesterday. According to delegation members, Lt Governor assured them that he will look into their demands.

“We are suspending our agitation for some times to allow smooth conduct of class 4th interviews in the district,” the sponsors of the Kargil agitation said on Friday.

They threatened that if their demands are not met, the agitation will be further intensified.

Shops and business establishments reopened this morning and traffic was also plying normally after remaining suspended for three consecutive days.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Kargil, heading theagitation had called for a three-day strike from October 29 alleging thatassurance given by then Governor Satya Pal Malik and state Chief Secretaryabout 14 point demands were not fulfilled so far. Secretary JAC Kargil NasirHussain Munshi alleged that assurance given to people of Kargil district werenot fulfilled by the government.

When divisional status was granted to Ladakh region, peopleof Kargil voiced their concern and wanted to remain with the Kashmir valley.However, protest was withdrawn after it was agreed that Divisional Commissionerwill stay for six months each on rotational basis at Leh and Kargil.

He said after the UT was announced for Ladakh, people ofKargil again hit the streets demanding justice as it was announced that LtGovernor and other senior top bureaucrats will function from Leh. It was onlyafter Mr Malik and Chief secretary visited Kargil and met JAC and otherrepresentatives, a 14 charter of demands was presented before them. Governoragreed to immediately address the grievances which are within the jurisdictionof state and approach centre to resolve other demands of the JAC before October31st, Munshi claimed.

He said we demand that the office of Lt Governor and otherbureaucrats should also function on rotational basis—six months in Leh and sixmonths in Kargil.

Mr Munshi said we also demand guarantee that land andemployment rights of people of Kargil will not be affected after UT.  He feared that after scrapping of specialstatus of the state, anyone can buy land and get employment in Ladakh.

He said since our students cannot compete with the studentsof other parts of the country who are getting better educational opportunities,we demand a local Service Selection Board (SSB) for Leh and Kargil.  The youths of Kargil will lose employmentopportunities to outsiders if SSB was not set up locally, he alleged.