There has been colossus loss of livestock in far off Changthang and Nyom in Ladakh where about a 22,000 precious pashmina goats perished for want of fodder? The loss is even much more as yaks, horses and other quadrupeds also perished in thousands for lack of fodder. Is it not gross callousness and negligence on the part of Sheep Husbandry Department? Why did it not make adequate stocks of fodder before the winter set in knowing fully well that this is a snow bound area and the roads remain closed owing to snowfall for most of the winter? The Head of the Sheep Husbandry Department owes an explanation to the people.
The Minister incharge should have given the house detailed statistics of all aspects of Pashmina production, trade and income through this source to the state and the people handling Pashmina trade. This would have been an eye opener for all to assess the unpardonable negligence of leaving the nomads and their precious livestock of Nyoma and Changthang to the care of God Almighty. The story of deriving maximum commercial benefit from Pashmina trade on the one hand and total negligence of the survival of the livestock and the nomadic people isn’t acceptable. Representatives from Ladakh should have also drawn the attention of the Government immediately when the news of disaster reached them.
The affected area is far-flung, and connectivity is not that efficient. The people involved in pashmina industry are traditionally nomads. Like the Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir region, these Pashmina tending nomads also are migratory, moving from one pasture to another to tend their flocks. They should have been provided facilities of education, healthcare (mobile schools and dispensaries), social amenities, insurance, trade and marketing facilities at par with the Gujjars and Bakarwals of other parts of the state. The Minister holding the charge of Ladakh Affairs should have provided details of the facilities provided to these nomads or facilities intended to be provided to them in the next development plan. By telling the house that so many hundreds of quintals of fodder or grains have been dispatched to the affected people he tried to cover up the discrepancies in his statement. It is no solace to the affected people who have lost their livestock and are in no position to revive their means of sustenance. What needs to be done on war footing is to identify the families that have suffered the loss of livestock, assess their flocks and the losses they have suffered and announce adequate financial compensation to be given to them within time frame. At the same time the Department of Animal Husbandry has also to draw plans how the loss of Pashmina goats can be made good by increasing their number within shortest possible time.
It is also important that a permanent policy of providing sufficient fodder for the cattle is framed at the level of the Government and this is implemented with all the strictness and not let the nomads and their livestock be left to the care of God Almighty. Snowfall and its impact is a regular feature of the region and the government policy has to take it into consideration on permanent basis. That will offset any adverse effect of the vagaries of weather which, however, are inevitable in this inhospitable region. Pashmina industry provides means of subsistence to thousands of families in the State. The Government has a duty to ensure the means of their sustenance.
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