COVID-19: With No Food, No Mask, No Sanitisers, Bakarwals Stuck in Jammu Delay Migration

"The food we had stocked is about to finish. There is no supply of ration for us. Whenever we enter the village for food, people run away after looking at us with suspicion. Shopkeepers don't allow us to buy the food saying that we are the carriers of the virus," said Haji Rasheed, one among the thousands of Bakarwals who have delayed the upward movement in midst of the lockdown. Every year, at the outset of summer, thousands of Bakarwals - a Muslim nomadic community in Jammu- migrate uphill to Kashmir along with their herds of livestock.

This time they are stuck with no food and an uncertain future. "We have already delayed our journey by 20 days. Few more days and our animals will fall sick. They are not conditioned to bear the heat," said Bashir, who is stranded at Dansal village, Jammu. 

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has allowed this nomadic tribe to migrate. The notification issued reads, "It is necessitated that the seasonal migration is allowed for the upper reaches to get adequate green fodder for their livestock (sheep and goat.)" The order underlines that the movement of tribals shall only be allowed with "valid permit issued by competent authority."

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Valid permit pass also known as Matoon includes the list of livestock they own and the tax charged on it. "Matoon is like our identity. We got Matoon by the concerned authority but how and where to go? The villagers are not letting us pass through their villages. We are also scared of the disease. Administration should provide us with tents at the stops so that we can also practice social distancing," said Bashir. 

No Transport, No Food, No Mask, No Sanitizers

As soon as the WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, the focus fell on maintaining basic hygiene including regular washing and sanitising of hands, and recently the Indian Government has also highlighted the issue of wearing of masks when outside as one of the measures to keep oneself safe from the infection.

But these tribals who are now stranded in Jammu don't have masks, sanitisers or even the basic knowledge about the disease. Rasheed told NewsClick, "No one from the administration came to inform us what coronavirus is. We, here, frequently listen to radio and that's how we got to learn. Since then, we are following social distancing as much as we can."

They also said that they expect the administration to distribute masks and hand sanitisers to them. "We are always moving, on the roads and the possibility of contracting the virus is way higher than others who are inside their homes. Administration should give us masks and sanitisers else it will be difficult for us to move," said Nafees, who is in Nagrota, Jammu. 

Another reason why tribals are delaying their movement is because of no access to the transport. "We need trucks or cars for the toddlers and old age people. The terrain is not very comfortable and the fact that vehicles are not allowed is creating further problems for us," he added. 

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Several people from this community also complained about the shortage of rations. They told NewsClick that if the situation remains the same, within a few days they will starve.

Explaining the difficulties faced by the Bakarwals, Nazakat Khatana, president of Gujjar Bakarwal Desh Tehreek-E-Insaaf, told NewsClick, "It has been a month since ration has not been supplied to the tribals. In such a condition, when the entire world has been put under the lockdown, our request is that ration be supplied to the tribals else it will be difficult for them to survive. They have ration cards as well. The stocked up food is about to finish and the government is turning a blind eye to their agony."

Additionally, several stories of of harassment of the Bakarwals are also being reported. A member of the community said, on condition of anonymity, "We are really scared. We heard that a few days ago some Bakarwals were beaten up for passing through a village."