The Trashigang Dzongkhag Tshogdu has decided to let Gewog offices either translocate or auction stray horses found roaming in their areas. Free-roaming horses have been causing nuisances in the district for almost half a decade now. This is especially rampant in Phongmey and Lem Chiwogs under Phongmey Gewog.
Free-roaming horses like these have been bothering the farmers of Lem and Phongmey Chiwogs for years now. Earlier this month, villagers in Phongmey recently caught and tethered a herd of around 25 horses. Villagers say these horses have been entering their fields and damaging crops and vegetables. The horses still remain tied up in the village.
“The number of stray horses is increasing now. At night, it’s difficult to chase them away even if we use torchlights. Right when the rice saplings start growing, the horses enter the fields and roll on their backs damaging the saplings. Then we have to transplant new saplings which is very exhausting,” said Sonam Dorji, a resident.
“In our village, we always lose our paddy as well as other crops to the horses. This saddens us a lot. We don’t feel like doing farm work now,” said Dema, another resident.
The Phongmey Gewog office informed people in nearby Gewogs to come and claim the horses but no one turned up yet.
The Phongmey Gup raised the issue at the recently concluded Dzongkhag Tshogdu.
“Yes, it is true that the people are having a difficult time guarding their crops from the horses. After a lot of hard work in the fields and when it’s harvest time, the horses eat and damage all the crops. So, we are now planning call all the villagers and catch the horses like we did last year,” said Namgay Wangdi, Phongmey Gup
The Gewog office will now either auction the horses or transport them to a new location. Last year, the Gewog office similarly translocated around 23 stray horses to Aja Nye.
Meanwhile, Kanglung and a few other Gewogs in the district are also facing similar problems. People say with easy access to road these days, people are losing interest in raising horses which is leading to many of them going astray.
Sonam Darjay, Trashigang
Edited by Kipchu
