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Hundreds of Tibetans-in-exile gathered in Dharamshala to participate in a candlelight vigil and express solidarity with the victims of the earthquake that struck Tibet on January 7.
Four leading Tibetan NGOs, including the Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women's Association, Students for Free Tibet, and the National Democratic Party of Tibet, jointly organised this candlelight vigil in Dharamshala on Wednesday. During the candlelight march, Tibetan activists said that China must stop destroying Tibet's environment. The participants carried placards which said, "Provide Immediate Aid and Support Victims" and "Pray for Dingri." An earthquake jolted a remote region of Tibet on January 7, killing at least 126 people and injuring over 100 others, with tremors felt in Nepal, Bhutan and parts of northern India, Al Jazeera reported. Speaking to ANI, an exiled Tibetan Tenzin Marico said, "It's such a sad thing that happened yesterday in Tibet and we are so sad that so many earthquakes happened in nearby, Lhasa, Shigatse and Dingli. And today we are here to give them solidarity with the candlelight March and we are doing it right now. You can see behind me what's happening. And we all are such a, I don't know how to say such a sad thing that we wanted to share with the world what happened to us in Tibet." Tenzin Lekdhen, a Tibetan activist from Students for FreeTibet, said that they have gathered here to express solidarity with the victims of the earthquake that struck Tibet. He said, "Two days back, there was a devastating earthquake in Dingli County in Togo Township in Tibet within 7.1 magnitude, which has a devastating impact on the people in that county, where there have been nearly 130 deaths, more than 188 injured, and 1,000 Tibetan homes being destroyed by the earthquake. So, we are here in solidarity with the people and the victims of that earthquake." Tenzin Lekdhen accused China of building mega-development projects that have a huge impact on the environment. Asked about the reason behind the earthquake that jolted Tibet, he said, "There are many speculations but one of the major reasons could be that China has been intensively building those mega development projects damming ... for specifically or also on the Diru and the Dichu river which will have huge impact on the environment which could also have huge impact on the tectonic place moving upside and could impact the earth, having more frequent earthquakes in that very fragile ecosystem and the region there. It is a man-made problem for sure. China has been intensively building mega-development dams in that specific region." Over 1000 houses were destroyed in the earthquake that struck Tibet on January 7, Al Jazeera reported, citing Xinhua News Agency. The epicentre of the quake was Shigatse, one of the holiest cities of Tibet, as per Al Jazeera. The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 7.1 on the Richter scale, while the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) recorded a magnitude of 6.8. (ANI)
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