NEW DELHI: Indian officials Sunday said (May 12) that at least 300 yaks starved to death in a remote Himalayan valley after a bout of unusually harsh winter weather.
Officials
in the northeastern state of Sikkim said they received the first distress call
from around 50 people cut off in the remote Mukuthang Valley in December.
Following
very heavy snowfall the residents asked for help providing feed for their herd
of around 1,500 yaks, a source of local milk, milk products, transportation and
wool.
"We
made several attempts to reach them but couldn't. No roads or air transport
could reach there because of the weather conditions. We reached there now and
have already confirmed at least 300 yak deaths," local official Raj Kumar
Yadav told AFP.
"The
local families say that 500 yaks have died because of starvation. We are trying
to confirm that. Around 50 yaks are also receiving urgent medical
attention," Yadav added.
Yaks are
one of the mainstays of the region's tourism-dependent economy.
A few yaks
die because of extreme conditions in the region each year, but the authorities
say that this year's toll is unprecedented.
"The
weather was too harsh. One heavy spell of snowfall in December was followed by
even more snowfall and even the grass didn't grow. They died because of both
cold and starvation," Yadav added.
The
authorities are making arrangements to bury the dead yaks and assist local
families in the valley, around 70 kilometres (45 miles) from state capital
Gangtok.
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