As the flood waters recede in Jammu & Kashmir, and the State slowly limps back to normalcy, it is important to take stock of the thousands of farm animals that have died and the crores of rupees worth crops that have been destroyed
Sarwar Jahan, a lady in her late 60s, started her day by giving fodder and water to her cattle and goat, before turning to her household chores in the kitchen. Her husband Qayam Din, would then take the cattle and goat out for grazing in a fenced village of Keerni — one of the many villages severely affected by the decade-old cross-border conflict in the north-western region of Poonch in Jammu & Kashmir.
That the fields are fraught with the fatal risk of a stray anti-personnel mine exploding beneath his feet would not deter him; Qayam Din would choose to risk his life by going along with them to the pasture. Clearly, livestock played an important role in this family as it was a major source of livelihood.
However, this changed with the floods that hit Jammu & Kashmir recently. Overnight, this family’s only source of livelihood was wiped out. They have been left destitute.
“We were completely unprepared. My family made every possible effort to save the animals but could do nothing. We had two cows. One died; the other was gravely injured. One goat that we had also died. Our house, livestock and fields — our entire life has been damaged by this devastating flood,” shared their son, Nazam Din Mir, a social activist from Keerni, who watched in sheer helplessness as his family, along with thousands like them, could do little as their belongings were swept away.
Almost every family in the rural belt of Poonch District shared the same grief as Nazam’s family. “Small-scale farming and rearing livestock are the source of income in our village — just enough for survival. Unlike in cities, we do not buy milk, butter, curd from outside. Our own livestock meets our dairy needs, allowing some savings from our monthly expenses. But now, without our livestock, our loss is enormous,” explains Qayam Din.
“A man in my village lost his entire herd of 18 buffaloes,” narrates Ajaz ul Haq, a resident of Surankote. Each buffalo priced over Rs50,000. Economic devastation has dealt such a blow that the households may never recover again.
With the buffaloes, goats and sheep dead in large numbers, the nauseating stench is a constant reminder of the loss and, worse, of the threats ahead.
“Our priority will be to slowly get our lives back on track, starting with repairing the damaged structures and reworking the fields. We cannot afford to even think of buying new animals. Although we are getting relief in terms of ration and compensation for the damaged structures, no compensation for the loss of livestock and crops has come either from the State or the Central Government,” rued Niaz Ahmed, a local from Surankote village.
In contrast, according to a top official, the State Government is slated to submit a memorandum of losses amounting to Rs1,00,000 crore to the Union Government as the recent devastating floods have caused colossal damage to property besides claiming more than 280 lives.
The State’s Chief Secretary Muhammad Iqbal Khanday, while addressing the media for the first time after the devastating floods, said that a total of 5,642 villages were affected by the floods of which 800 villages remained submerged for more than two weeks and 12.50 lakh families were directly or indirectly affected. The casualty of livestock is staggering: 10,050 milch animals are dead, as also 33,000 sheep and goats. Damage to agricultural crops has been to the tune of Rs4,043 crore while horticultural crops suffered losses amounting to Rs1,568 crore. A total of 6.51 lakh hectares of land was affected.
According to another report, in Poonch alone, 28,369 kanals of land has been affected by the flash floods with no estimated figure of loss of livestock available as yet. So far, no compensation has been announced for the damaged crops and livestock — the very basis of survival of the rural people.
However, when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the District, he had declared that the Government would relax norms to compensate the people who have suffered extensive loss of life, livestock and property during the floods, but nothing has been done. There has been no announcement as far as compensation for livestock is concerned.
“People in the Valley are demanding compensation for the damaged crops. Here, in Poonch, we expect the Government to announce compensation for the loss of livestock. We have hopes from our Government that they will understand our dependency on livestock and crops and will save us from a starvation like situation,” said Nazam Din Mir.
(The author is a media fellow with the National Foundation of India)