Nobody can deny the fact that Hangul is a symbol of Kashmir and its conservation should be a priority. Millions of rupees have been pumped into conservation programmes. Scores of seminars, workshops and conferences are being conducted every year to ponder over the ever dwindling numbers of Hangul. Unfortunately every conference, much like Jaspal Bhattii’s meetings ends up in voluminous compilation, multiple copies of proceedings and deciding a date of next meeting.
With no solutions in view our zealous (read jealous) conservationists and self-styled wildlife experts are in the hunt for soft targets. This time it is not the “scape goat” but “scape sheep”. A sheep farm located in Dachigam has become a soft target. All sorts of theories have been invented and reports churned to attribute all the ills to poor sheep. One fails to understand how a small sheep farm can pose a life threatening threat to Hangul. Nobody seems to be bothered about VIP guest houses, fisheries farm and security forces within the farm. If few hundred sheep of Dachigam Sheep Farm can wreck a havoc to the habitat of Hangul, what about hundreds of migratory graziers crisscrossing the length and breadth of the sanctuary with their flocks numbering thousands. What about the ever growing human habitation all along the periphery and what about the cement factories coming up in Khrew and adjoining areas.
Hangul is now confined to Dachigam only. It has been virtually wiped out from areas other than Dachigam. If Dachigam Sheep Farm is a risk to Hangul in Dachigam, which sheep farms were responsible for its extinction from other areas, or the other way round isn’t the presence of sheep farm in Dachigam perhaps an incentive for Hangul to thrive in the sanctuary.
Can the propounders of sheep farm theory guarantee that the closure of sheep farm at Dachigam will suddenly drive away all graziers from Dachigam and put an end to all the encroachments along the periphery.
An old Kashmiri proverb fits well to the situation “Kob Kul Kus Tchu – Masjid Huind Tulae Kul”. Alas! It seems that like a proverbial Tulae Kul all our efforts are directed at wiping out the sheep farm from Dachigam because like dumb, meek and submissive sheep their caretakers (Sheep Husbandry Department) have turned equally dumb and their voices have been dampened by the highly vocal opponents.
Views expressed in the article are of the author and do not represent the views of the organisation he works for.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
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