In Umarkot, women say count the herds, not just the hectares

Special diet rations for the dying livestock could help save lives, and not just those of the animals.

MITHI:

A woman sits by her dying cow desperately whispering verses under her breath. “It is four years old. My daughter is the same age. I would not be able to bear it if I lost it,” she says. “How can I let it die? I have cared for it like a daughter.”

The speechless animals are not just pets and livelihood in this part of Sindh, they are part of the sense of belonging, of life and family. Thus, the helplessness as their bodies pile up on the roads. “We can face a disaster, if it comes alone, but when it is combined - we become vulnerable, we surrender,” says Dhana Solangi, who lives in Khameeso Solangi village in Umarkot. The villagers watched as the skies opened. Waterways broke their sides, drains swelled. “It is true that our crops are done for. But now our animals are dying.”

Half of the district is desert and the other half is used as farmland, but it is the animals that are also an important part of staying alive. The rain may have submerged the arable land but the farmers are more intent on saving their livestock.

In Umarkot, the goat is the figurative ‘lion of the jungle’. This species makes up half the farm animal population and they are usually reared and kept by the women, specifically the Kolhis, Bheels, Manghwars, Parmars and Bajers. The goats actually outnumber the buffaloes and cattle and thus their casualties have been the highest.

Goats are basically not built for rain. “When the sudden rains fall and there is thunder, the goats get spooked and make a run for it,” explains Devei, who is now taking refuge in a roadside camp in Naukot. Others were swept away in the currents or drowned. The skittish animal is sensitive to fear and shock, adds Jaimal Dhanani, who is with the Pakistan Dairy Development Corporation. That is why more of them die during thunder. “[Rain and thunder] cause heart failure,” he explains. “[Also] goats have more sweat glands which is why they get more muscle tremors during the rainy and cold season.”

Their bodies strew the link roads between Kunri, Samaro, Pithoro and Naukot via Cheel Bund. There is no concrete data on the losses, at least not from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, but the district has made some initial assessments. Till August 14, about 167,432 animals - goat, buffaloes, donkey and cattle, are dead.  This forms about 16% of the total livestock population. But local vet Dr Venjhraj warns that the number will go up as teams have not been able to reach many areas and the small animals and herds are on the move.

Herders and owners are doubly depressed by the deaths and the fear of disease outbreaks such as hemorrhagic septicemia and liver flukes that is a kind of worm that attacks the animal’s liver. Vashoomal, who has worked with livestock, suggests that concentrate rations such vanda and mash should be supplied to animal owners. Vanda, which helps with large animals, is a diet of wheat bran, rice bran, cotton seed cake, cereals, molasses and pre-mix vitamins. It would help women like Rai Parmar, who worries that government relief will only help landlords and not animal owners like her. Humans need air but so do the animals.

The writer works in development with the Thardeep Rural Development Programme in Mithi and can be reached at [e-mail]





Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2011.