Tibetan Settlement, Sonamling:
A brief story of Sonamling Tibetan Settlement, Leh Ladakh, J & K:
Introduction:
Sonamling Tibetan settlement was established in 1969 with an initial population of 617 Tibetan refugees. Majority of them were nomads from western part of Tibet bordering with Ladakh and fled in 1959 in the aftermath of Chinese occupation of Tibet.
Settlement location:
This settlement is situated at Leh Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir state, India at the height of 3505 Mts. above sea level. The Indus River flows through the southern side of the settlement and canal system is made from the river. Agricultural method used is traditional and hence yield is very low.
Settlement population:
| Initial population | 928 |
| Present population: | 5584 |
No. of villages in the settlement:
Sonamling Tibetan settlement consists of 11 scattered villages. Each settlement is identified on the basis of numerical. The camps no.3 so to say is the capital of the settlement as vocationally and all the official functions were held in this camp. The school, settlement office, co-operative society are also located in this camp. The average distance between each settlement is 3-4 Kms. The outer most village from the camp no 3 is more than 14 Kms which make accessibility to service difficult. Therefore, in each camp there is a small dispensary, a creche, and a kindergarten facility have been set up.
Settler's livelihood:
Most of the original families have a small piece of agricultural land for their living. Due to lack of irrigation facilities, the agriculture practiced, is not sufficient to sustain the families on farming alone. Besides agricultural, the most of the settlers are engaged in trading, restaurants, shop keeping, and seasonal woollen business etc.
Facilities in the settlement:
| School: | One middle school (TCV) up to class 10th std. One pre-primary school and crches in every camp |
| Health facilities: | One modern allopathic dispensary Branch of Tibetan traditional medical center |
| Monastery: | There are 3 monasteries |
| Co-operative Society: | The settlement has a Multipurpose Co-operative Society
Registered under the Indian Co-operative Societies Act of
1970. The Co-operative Society provide necessary services to
the settlement people. This section runs different section
to meet the need of the settlement like.
1. Carpet Center |
| Elderly people's home: | One elderly people home with 20 elders |
Administrative setup:
CTA Representative:
The settlement has a settlement officer who is the Representative of
the Department of Home, Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Dharamsala.
Settlement officer is the principle post of the settlement and he is
incharged with overall control of running of affairs in the settlement.
The Representative acts as the liaison between the settlement and the Department of Home (CTA) and is the main source of information for the people in the settlement. Daily tasks for the representative ranges from adjudicating disputes to communicating with group leaders and outside authorities, and generally watching over the running of all aspects of the settlement.
Local Assembly:
The functioning or activities of every settlement are more or less
similarly to each other. The settlement possess an elected Local Assembly
and actual term for the local Assembly is five years. These Local Assembly
hold session twice in a year and can raise the question and decide on
any issues related to the settlement during the session. These group leaders
are chosen on the basis of their strength of personality and once ability to
stand before the interest of their village.
Traveling guide:
| Nearest railway station | No |
| Nearest airport | Leh Airport 9Km from Chief Representative Office (CRO) [ Camp no. 3 ] |
| Bus and Taxi services | Available only during month of May to October |