Livelihood worries haunt disaster-hit Bastari villagers

BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, July 21

Residents of disaster-hit Bastari village in Pithoragarh district are worried about their livelihood as a vast swathe of agricultural land lies covered with debris.

Locals say over 16 acres of fertile land in the village, which is used for paddy cultivation, is no more suitable for farming. The land was damaged recently when cloudbursts occurred in the region.

Shankar Datt Bhatt, a social worker in Bastari village, says villagers had kitchen gardens near their houses in which they had been growing vegetables for themselves as well as for selling in nearby markets. But as the land is now unfit for cultivation, villagers are facing a tough time.

He says more than 20 of the 29 families in the village were dependent on vegetable cultivation for earning a livelihood. They used to sell their produce in the markets of Ogla, Didihat, Narayan Nagar and Mirthi. “The vegetables grown in Bastari village are in demand as these are pure organic in nature, grown from tradition seeds,” he adds.

Besides, unavailability of fodder for livestock is another problem. Most of the villagers are engaged in animal husbandry, which needs to be revived. The land, which villagers have used to grow fodder for years, was inundated by water after the July 1 cloudburst.

Ranjana Bhatt, a villager, says several families had been engaged in the business of supplying milk to nearby markets and dairies. “Now, people have sold their animals at a cheap price as they can’t arrange fodder for them,” she adds.