Indian Tribal News Service
Jammu
The Tribal Affairs Department of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has flagged off a fleet of 40 trucks to drastically cut down the travel time of the migrating tribal families from their source to the destination.
The transportation will also help the easy movement of tribal families along with their livestock to highland pasture.
The scheme was launched by the Department as part of the new policy framework aimed at supporting the livelihood, education of transhumant families and improving their quality of life.
Once made operational on ground zero the tribal families will drastically cut down the travel time between their source and destination from existing 20-30 days to 1-2 days.
“A fleet of 40 trucks flagged-off to facilitate movement of migratory tribal families during the annual migration to highland pastures. It will reduce 20-30 day on-foot travel time to 1-2 days, ”Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Secretary to Government, Tribal Affairs Department, tweeted.
Elaborating further another senior functionary of the Tribal Affairs Department in Jammu said, “To begin with, a fleet of 40 trucks has been hired by the Tribal Affairs Department to facilitate movement of tribal population in the high hills.”
He said a comprehensive policy is in the pipeline as per which a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be formalised to customize a fixed number of trucks. “Till then a makeshift arrangement has been made”.
In order to take advantage of the scheme every individual is supposed to submit a formal request in the office of concerned Deputy Commissioner with details of livestock and place of destination from the existing district headquarters. Each Deputy Commissioner has appointed a nodal officer to examine the requests for the same.
A senior officer of the Tribal Affairs Department said, “We have dispatched these trucks, as per their requirement, to different station headquarters to allow them to prioritise and sanction the requests”.
As many as 10 trucks have been deployed along the Mughal road axis, considered the busiest stretch of Jammu to Kashmir region during the summer season. Likewise 4-5 trucks have been deployed along the Jammu Srinagar National Highway for regular movement of tribal population. The total cost of the shifting of tribals and their livestock would be borne by the Tribal Affairs Department.
Famous researcher and expert on tribal affairs, Dr Javaid Rahi, said, “It’s a welcome step and would go a long way in facilitating movement of tribals from one location to another. In the past, private parties used to hire transport services for shifting livestock during emergencies. It is for the first time, the government is organising smooth transport of tribal population to highland pastures to cut down their hardships and challenges.”
Dr Rahi said, “in the past several mishaps took place on national highways where livestock was crushed to death and the tribals could not get anything in return. The safe mode of travel would surely bring down the death rate due to mishap during peak season and would help the tribal population live a peaceful life without facing many hardships during transit.”
