The yaks died of starvation as the pastures remained covered with snow for a long time, said Badri Prasad Poudel, a technician at the Veterinary Office, Mustang. He said death of around 295 yaks owned by around 35 farmers of Chumjung village of Chhonhup VDC-9 have been confirmed. “The number of death tolls could go higher as the locals had left around 600 yaks to graze in the pastures at the altitude of 4,500 meters,” said Poudel.[break]
The farmers had left the yaks to graze in the pastures in December and the yaks were stranded due to heavy snowfall in the area. “They could not return home because of the blizzard and hunger killed them,” said Poudel.
He also said that it was not possible to travel to the pasture as the trail is covered with three feet deep snow. “The snow level is still around 3 feet in the area and we believe more yaks might have died,” said Poudel.
According to Gurung, some of the farmers have lost as many as 50 yaks. “This has cost the locals around Rs 20 million. The whole village is in a state of shock,” said Poudel.
Chief of veterinary office Guru Prasad Khakurel shared that many yaks had died after being buried by the snow, while others died of hunger. “Yaks have the habit of staying in one place for a long time,” said Khakural. There has been heavy snowfall in the area since the first week of December.
This is the first time such large number of yaks has died because of the heavy snowfall, informed Khakural. “We have asked the authorities to provide compensation to the farmers,” said Khakural. The farmers in the area depend on yaks for livelihood.
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