14 groups of shepherds, 2,000 animals rescued from Bara Bhangal

Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, October 17

Fourteen groups of shepherds crossed the Muraladhar Pass on Wednesday afternoon along with 2,000 livestock. It was the first successful attempt by the shepherds who had been trapped in the Bara Bhangal valley since September 21. The rescue operation began at 4 am but they could cross the pass in afternoon.

SDM, Baijnath, Vikas Shukla confirmed that 14 groups of shepherds had crossed it. Now that they had been rescued, the track had been established and the administration was hopeful that the remaining shepherds would also be brought out in two days.

Around 150 shepherds had been stuck in the valley. Each group of shepherds comprises two to four shepherds and about 500 animals. About 35 groups of shepherds are still trapped.

The SDM said the operation to retrieve the body of the deceased shepherd, Rakesh Kumar, had been abandoned as there was heavy snow in the area. The main concentration was to rescue the shepherds along with their livestock. The weather was predicted to be favourable for the next two days, so they were hopeful that all shepherds would be brought out safely, he said.

The Shepherds Mahasabha maintained that many shepherds had lost their livestock in snow. There were reports that about 500 sheep had perished. However, the exact figure would come to light after all shepherds were out of the valley.

The mahasabha had written to CM Jai Ram Thakur that a compensation should be given to the shepherds.