The first fleet of 6 vehicles flagged off from Rajouri
Shyam Sood
Rajouri, May 10: Every year, hundreds of nomadic families of herders from the Rajouri district set off on more than a month long trek to the high-altitude pastures situated in many parts of Kashmir to let the animals graze for the next about 5-6 months.
Most of the nomad families chose to trek for their seasonal migration through the snow-covered 80-km Mughal Road that connects Bafliaz (Poonch) with Shopian (Kashmir).
During the days of their arduous journey through Pir Panjal Ranges, the pastoral nomads face many hardships, as for as they and their animals are concerned.
Footrot or hoof infection is the most common disease animals catch during migration besides the highly contagious sheep pox and goat pox, and foot-and-mouth diseases.
To minimize the hardships of the nomads during the seasonal migration, for the first time in the history of seasonal migration, the government under the banner of the Tribal Welfare Department (TWD) has provided transportation to ferry the migratory population to ‘dokhs’ (pastures) in Peer Panjal Ranges.
Assistant Commissioner Revenue (ACR) Rajouri, Imran Rashid Kataria on Tuesday flagged off the first fleet of six vehicles carrying the migratory population to ‘dokhs’ in the presence of District Tribal Officer, Wakeel Ahmed Bhatt.
“An initiative has been taken to minimise the hardships of the migratory population during their journey to the upper reaches.
Earlier, they had to cover the entire journey on foot, which caused a lot of inconvenience to them, but with this move, the sufferings of these families have mitigated to a great extent”, said the ACR.
“These vehicles would continue to move to and fro during the entire migration season and anyone who is willing to avail the benefits of the initiative can contact the office of the ACR or the office of the District Tribal Welfare Department for necessary assistance,” said Wakeel Ahmed Bhatt.
While expressing their gratitude to the government the nomadic families said: “This initiative will make their journey smoother and also appealed for continuing the facility for the welfare of the tribal community”.
