On Friday, Wangchuk posted on X that he would not join the CJP’s October 10 demonstration at Jantar Mantar, citing the urgent need to focus on glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) prevention in the high Himalayas.
His team is building artificial glaciers to address the water shortages that affect over 10 million downstream residents, and is conducting experiments to strengthen protection against more than 200 glacial lakes that pose potential threats to the region.
Wangchuk has a history of street activism: in July he fasted for 26 days to pressure the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan after alleged exam malpractice, ending the fast in Gurugram with Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh present.
Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and co‑conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by Delhi Police aboard a flight, their arrest streamed online as the city tightened security ahead of the protest.
In the valley of Spiti, a family of five has been waiting for a new water pipeline that Wangchuk’s projects aim to bring, hoping to end monthly shortages that once forced them to travel 80 miles for water.
The CJP will go ahead with the protest on Saturday, while Wangchuk’s team prepares for the next phase of glacier construction, aiming to mitigate the risk of GLOF events by 2028.