Pastoral community wants DMK to create development board

Madurai: Members of the Tamil Nadu Federation for Pastoral People's Sangam (TFPPS) on Tuesday submitted a petition to the DMK election manifesto committee emphasising the demands of the pastoral community to create a pastoral economic development board and protect migratory pastoralists.President of the TFPPS, Rajiv Gandhi called for the inclusion of protective orders for the welfare of the pastoralist community in the manifesto.
The demands highlighted the need to establish a pastoral economic development board in order to facilitate livestock insurance, loans and market opportunities. "The board would also help the pastoralist community with access to traditional grazing lands and the rights to them, helping the community preserve local animal breeds as well as their own livelihoods," said Gandhi."Our people face daily challenges of social exclusion and false legal cases simply for following the paths of our ancestors," stated Gandhi, adding that the lives of around 20 lakh families are at stake.The petition also sought the enactment of a protection Act for migratory pastoralists in Tamil Nadu, modelled after similar acts in neighbouring states. The proposed act must provide legal immunity for nomadic herders against harassment by police and forest officials, as well as formally recognise the traditional migratory routes and ‘temporary transit stays'."Such measures are essential to the preservation of the ‘green economy' that these traditional communities maintain," Gandhi said, adding that the provision of legal recognition and economic support would revitalise this way of life that currently supports 3% of the agricultural GDP of the state.