In a bid to keep the two strategic highways linking Kashmir with Jammu congestion-free for the movement of apple-laden trucks out of the Union Territory (UT), the government has transported 1.56 lakh livestock of 12,497 tribal families that were in the process of biannual migration (transhumance) to the plains from the mountain pastures that are now covered under snow.

Transporting the livestock in trucks helps in keeping the Jammu—Srinagar highway and the Mughal Road free of congestion during the migration period.

The scheme to support the biannual transhumance was initiated by the Tribal Affairs Department in 2021 and is being implemented through district administrations under the supervision of the concerned  Deputy Commissioners and transport fleet provided by the J&K Road Transport Corporation.  More than 12,000 families and around 70,000 tribal population benefited under the initiative this year which is the highest since the launch of the initiative.

These include 86,192 from Anantnag, 22,221 from Ramban, 12,714 from Kulgam, 10,223 from Pulwama, 9,758 from Ganderbal, 6,897 from Shopian, 3,593 from Srinagar, 1,748 from Budgam, 1,717 from Bandipora and 1,152 from Baramulla. The arrangements at the district level were supervised by the respective Deputy Commissioners.

The concept of transport service was introduced after the 1st International Conference on Transhumance held in Albania in 2021 shared international best practices for sustaining transhumance and supporting the pastoral communities in migration to avoid conflict, mitigate losses, and establish institutional mechanisms.

The Secretary of the Tribal Affairs Department, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, said that as per the 2021 survey conducted by the department, tribal families possess an average livestock of 12.48 as against the family size of 5.8. This year, the total livestock numbering 1.56 Lakh was transported along with the families from various districts of Kashmir to Jammu.

Dr Choudhary said that on average, each family saves 20 days of transit, and taking into account the man-days and the prevailing wage rates there is a saving of Rs 20,380 per family of 3 adults and additional saving of transport costs up to Rs 40,000.  He said that the notional savings of these families during the current migration season are Rs 25.46 crore for days saved and Rs 48.72 crore for transportation and other expenses. These initiatives lead to poverty reduction and also safeguard the livestock against losses related to accidents, exhaustion deaths, and climatic conditions.

He added that the United Nations has declared 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) to create awareness about the role of pastoralists in sustainability and drive public policies for their inclusion and empowerment. Jammu & Kashmir, over the last two years, has taken substantial steps to promote sustainable transhumance and economic growth of the migratory tribal pastoral families.