Pashmina goats, the source of wool used to make the eponymous shawls, are dying in large numbers thanks to the heavy snowfall in Kashmir.
SRINAGAR: Pashmina goats, the source of wool used to make the eponymous shawls, are dying in large numbers thanks to the heavy snowfall in Kashmir. More than 1.5 lakh goats live in Changthang region on the Sino-Indo border in Ladakh.
Spread over 22,000 sq km, the Changthang pleateau is famous for the goats. “Around one to two feet of snowfall has been recorded in areas of Durbuk and Nyoma of Changthang plateau, burying the grasslands under it. The animals are unable to find fodder which has created a catastrophic situation in the region,” said Tsering Dorjay, chief executive officer of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh.
Nearly 10,000 people are associated with the rearing of the animals in Changthang. “It is a major source of income for the locals who rear these goats and supply wool to Kashmiri artisans who make shawls for export,” said Dorjay.
Preliminary estimates worked out by the LAHDC say the people may suffer a loss of Rs60 crore if timely action is not taken to save the rare animals.
“We have run out of fodder and it is hard to reach the area as it is 200 km from Leh and all roads are blocked by snow,” he said.
LAHDC has approached the defence ministry to airdrop fodder in the area. “We have requested the state government to take up the issue with the defence ministry so that the animal can be saved,” said Dorjay.
Moreover, this year the pastures had been attacked by locusts. “Locusts came from China and wreaked havoc on our pastures this year. We had stocked some of the fodder for winter but it has already run out,” added
Dorjay.
h_ishfaq@dnaindia.net
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