Chopan Association, RTIM Seek Mobile Health Centres in J&K’s Highland Pastures

Ziraat Times Team Report

Srinagar, June 20: The Jammu and Kashmir Chopan Welfare Association, the RTI Movement (RTIM) Jammu and Kashmir, and the J&K Climate Action Group (JKCAG) on Saturday urged the government to establish mobile health centres in highland pastures across Jammu and Kashmir during the summer migration season, citing the absence of basic healthcare facilities for pastoral communities.

In a joint statement, the organisations appealed to the Chief Minister and Health Minister to deploy at least paramedical teams from the Health Department to major grazing grounds for two months during July and August to cater to the healthcare needs of shepherds and nomadic families.

Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat, Chairman of JKCAG and founder of the RTI Movement, said that while veterinarians and para-veterinary staff from the Animal and Sheep Husbandry Departments regularly visit highland pastures during summer months, no such arrangements exist for human healthcare.

“For basic treatment, shepherds including Chopans, Bakerwals and Gaddis often have to travel 20 to 30 kilometres to reach a government dispensary or primary health centre,” he said, urging authorities to send mobile medical teams to different pasturelands for at least two months during the migration season.

Abdul Ahad Chopan, spokesperson of the J&K Chopan Welfare Association, said that thousands of Chopans, Bakarwals, Gaddis, Gujjars and other nomadic families migrate annually to high-altitude grazing grounds from May to October. He said that although more than 200 pastures are officially mapped and regulated by the Sheep Husbandry Department, pastoral communities living there for nearly six months every year continue to face a complete absence of healthcare services.

According to the association, more than two lakh pastoralists and their family members spend the migration season in these pastures without access to doctors, medicines or emergency medical care. It said incidents of bear attacks, snake bites, high-altitude sickness and respiratory infections frequently go untreated.

The organisations demanded that the government establish seasonal mobile health units and ensure regular visits by medical personnel to remote grazing areas to provide basic healthcare services to pastoral communities.

The Chopan community constitutes a traditional pastoral group in Kashmir and has historically played a central role in the region’s sheep-rearing economy. For generations, Chopan families have migrated seasonally with large flocks to alpine meadows, supplying wool, mutton and breeding stock that support Jammu and Kashmir’s extensive sheep husbandry sector. Their indigenous knowledge of grazing patterns, pasture management and animal care has significantly contributed to sustaining the livestock economy in the Himalayan region.

Despite their economic contribution, members of the Chopan community remain among the least developed socio-economically in Jammu and Kashmir. Many families continue to live in temporary shelters for several months each year and face limited access to healthcare, education, drinking water, roads and communication facilities in remote pasturelands. Community leaders have repeatedly sought targeted welfare measures, better educational opportunities for children and improved social security mechanisms to address decades of neglect and marginalisation.