No income, herders forced to abandon camels in Rajasthan

Parul Kulshrestha | TNN | Updated: May 4, 2020, 11:58 IST

All the animal fairs this year have been called off due to pandemic

JAIPUR: Camel herders in the state are finding it difficult to survive amid lockdown without any source of income. This pandemic has forced many of them to free their camels to fend for themselves as they cannot afford to care for them.
Hiralal Dewasi, a camel herder from Udaipur, said since the lockdown they are not being allowed to graze their camels. “We are beaten up if we try to take camels for grazing. At home, we have no source of income. Before lockdown, camel milk was purchased by Saras dairy but now they have stopped buying it due to lack of transport facilities. We are on the verge of starvation and have to find ways to feed camels,” said Dewasi.
According to the Livestock Census report 2019, camel population in the state has reached its lowest point in seven decades. As the economic viability of camel has decreased, their numbers have gone down. The government started selling camel milk to provide livelihood to herders. Camel milk is found to be very helpful for children with autism and disability. It was supplied all over the country and the demand is still there, but no way to supply it.
Hanwant Singh, founder of Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, working for the conservation of camels said that he is receiving calls from all over the country for camel milk. “It is helpful for the development of children but we cannot transport it. Recently, the Centre had started a scheme to supply camel milk through train after the lockdown which was stopped after few weeks. Lockdown has severely affected the livelihood of camel herders and the government should come forward for some temporary relief,” said Singh.
For the last six months, thousands of camels in the state have died due to the skin disease. The state government and Hanwant Singh’s organization have vaccinated many camels but in lockdown, the work is put on hold.
Bhanwar Chaudhary, another camel herder in Barmer, said that most of the camel owners have left their animal to fend for themselves.
“What are we supposed to do? In Barmer, there is no farming due to desert area. Animal husbandry is our only source of income. Camel is such a big animal and feeding them is difficult. All the animal fairs this year were called off due to pandemic. We have not earned a single penny in lockdown. Most of us have let our camels free. Either they would die of skin disease for which there is no assistance from government and if survive after the lockdown, we will look into it then,” said Chaudhary.