A yak is all set to woo pilgrims visiting Badrinath this year. The portals of the Hindu shrine will be…
(Photo: SNS)
A yak is all set to woo pilgrims visiting Badrinath this year. The portals of the Hindu shrine will be thrown open to visitors on 30 April. Yak rides are a popular tourist attraction in Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Sikkim, but in Uttarakhand the use of this long-haired domesticated bovid came to an end after the 1962 Indo-China war. The Yak was used by Indian traders for cross border trade with Tibet.
The Chamoli district’s veterinary department has provided a yak to a farmer based in Farkiya Padhan village. This yak will be on display at Badrinath. District veterinary officer Lokesh Kumar said, “This is a pilot project. We want to see how the yak behaves in the crowd. There is no immediate plan to start yak rides in the present season.”
The traders from Chamoli used to ferry products, to be sold in Tibet, on yaks. Once the war put brakes on the trade, the villagers found little or no use for the yak in their daily life. Slowly the bovid disappeared from the scene in Uttarakhand.
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Pitamber Molpa from Mana village said, “I approached the state government various times, requesting them to introduce and promote yak rides in Badrinath. But nobody gave any importance to my request. The Chamoli district administration has made a good start, I appreciate the move.”
The remote Farkiya Padhan village is the hub of activity these days. The arrival of the 2-year-old yak has led to the village grabbing media attention.
Brijbhushan said, “I have named the yak ‘Chandu’ and villagers and tourists visiting Farkiya Padhan love to take selfies with this animal. I took a yak ride in Himachal Pradesh and enjoyed the experience.My grandfather was involved in cross-border trade and used yaks to transport products. I approached the district veterinary department several times to revive use of yak in village life. After almost two years, the department agreed and provided me the yak and Chandu is ready to head for Badrinath.”
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