For the last many years, inflation is a major concern for people across the country for which Ladakh is not an exception. The increasing rates of fuel, food and civil supplies, traffic, and other fines, are already widening the hole in public pockets. This is added by some other peripheral expenses that identified recently in the Kargil market.

As a student, we need printouts of notes and research articles on daily basis. The Internet Café and Xerox shops charge Rs 10 per page, five if printed in bulk and on both sides. I don’t know how the students in Kargil manage or they might not be reading! they know better. To read on a laptop is not an option; first, it is fatigue, and irritating; second, researchers and my personal observation over many years found that reading on a screen is not an alternative to paper.

This expense is also a major one for students, especially when they have no job and employment opportunities. When their parents have many other expenses to meet in a time of inflation.

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Secondly, as reported by many, slots to appear for test of learner and driving license is not easily approachable to the general public. A limited number of slots are uploaded at midnight once a week which is not easy to grab for a user who is not too friendly with gadgets. The last resort is again the internet café which reportedly charges Rs 500 only to grab a slot.

It is a fact that the internet cafés have no loaded work like in other cities due to the small district population. However, the recurring expenses for local businesses like shop rents are considerably low in comparison to other cities. Thus, the price could be high than in other cities but not as high as ten times (a printout in other cities charges Rs 1 and Rs 10 in Kargil).

Only two instances are reported here, but there are many others that need immediate attention. The Administration, if stands to protect the interest of the general public, must look into these matters and ease the sufferings of the public.