Seasonal migration
Tribal seasonal migration from highland pastures ends with onset of snowfall and most of them have been provided with transport facilities by the J&K administration.
In a significant achievement the Government of Jammu and Kashmir under its initiative for supporting biannual migration (transhumance) of tribal communities provided transport service to 12,497 families and transported 1,56,215 livestock.
The scheme initiated by the Tribal Affairs Department in 2021 is being implemented through District Administrations under supervision of Deputy Commissioners and transport fleet provided by the J&K Road Transport Corporation. More than 12,000 families and around 70,000 people benefited under the initiative this year which is the highest since the launch of the initiative. These include 86,192 from Anantnag, 22,221 from Ramban, 12,714 from Kulgam, 10,223 from Pulwama, 9758 from Ganderbal, 6897 from Shopian, 3593 from Srinagar, 17,48 from Budgam, 1717 from Bandipora and 1152 from Baramulla. The arrangements at district level were supervised by the respective Deputy Commissioners.
The concept of transport service was introduced after the 1st International Conference on Transhumance held in Albania in 2021 shared International best practices for sustaining transhumance and supporting the pastoral communities in migration to avoid conflict, mitigate losses and establish institutional mechanisms. Secretary, Tribal Affairs Department, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary informed that as per 2021 survey conducted by the department tribal families possess an average livestock of 12.48 and family size is 5.8. This year total livestock numbering 1.56 Lakh was transported along with the families from various districts of Kashmir to Jammu.
