Window to Gilgit-Baltistan

By  Syed Shamsuddin     A survey dating back to 2005 unfolds that on average, each household keeps eight cattle heads; one bull, five cows and two calves in Gilgit tehsil. Milch cow yield averages about 3.10 kg milk per day with a lactation period of 11 and a half month. Area farmers openly graze their cattle in meadows and feed grass, shaftal and thinned maize stalks to cattle during summer and dry fodder (maize and wheat straw and dried Alfalfa) during winter season. However, some farmers also supplement cattle feed with dry breads, cotton seed cakes and choker (grinded wheat). Farmers face moderate fodder shortage during July-August and feed mulberry leaves. Thinned maize plants and weeds hoed from maize cropped for dry fodder. Farmers face severe shortages during winter and one third of them have to purchase dry fodder. Traditionally, livestock are fed on un-chopped fodder and straw with no stall-feeding being practiced. This not only results in loss of fodder bu...

By  Syed Shamsuddin     In G-B, quaint traditional livestock breeding still remains underway in the primitive pastoralist ways with almost all the farmers rearing the local, non-descriptive breeds of sheep, goats and cattle and poultry. Strivings remain underway by the relevant authorities to bring about positive change in terms are livestock and dairy development as testified by the establishment of a model dairy farm at Konodas, Gilgit in the vicinity of KIU where there is a jersey flock comprising 24 cattle heads (07 male, 10 miclh and rest calves) – all of original breed, says Dr Muhammad Naseer deputy director livestock and poultry development overseeing both the projects of dairy farming and poultry development. The adjacent hatchery with a significant yield of chicks of different breeds (both broiler and layers) which has this time round, produced 57000 to be provided to the farmers on subsidized rates in simultaneous with a significant quantity of eggs from t...

By  Syed Shamsuddin     Many countries around the globe today are genuinely boastful of tourism as the backbone of their economy obviously for its being only viable and single largest source of revenue for their respective governments. Indubitably, these countries have seemingly made remarkable strides in this crucial sector because of their sagacity and pragmatic approach whereby they made concerted efforts in doing away with infirm and ad hoc measures that could plague tourism development and eventually, yanked successfully back from the edge of economic predicament they were earlier in.