- NET Web Desk
In a novel move, the National Insurance Company Ltd has now opened the option of insuring Yaks.
India has around 58,000 yaks with its habitats in the Trans-Himalayan region encompassing Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh.
As the Yaks live in the harshest of climates many of them die incurring a loss for its herders. It is for the first time insurance of this magnificent animal is being made available for its rearers.
The yaks are susceptible to diseases, changing of climes, harsh weather conditions, attacks by predators, etc.
It was only a few years back that hundreds of Yaks had perished to heavy snow in Sikkim.
It was Dr. Mihir Sarkar Director of Arunachal’s West Kameng district-based National Research Centre on Yak (NRCY) who played a pivotal role in ensuring that Yaks gets insured.
“After I joined the institute as the director in January this year, I had approached the NICL and managed to convince it on the need to get the yaks insured. It approved the policy,” Sarkar, who served at the NRCY for 12 years as a scientist earlier, told The New Indian Express on Friday.
“Due to the relentless efforts of ICAR-NRCY, the insurance policy for yaks was approved. It will be a big boon for the yak owners throughout the country. The policy will shield them against several risks posed by weather calamities, diseases, in-transit mishaps, surgical operation, strike or riots, and permanent total disability for breeding or stud yaks,” Dr. Sarkar added.
There is also a provision of subsidy for the Yak rearers. However, the subsidy under the policy is only for five yaks per person of a household. For insuring more than five yaks the full premium needs to be paid.
In the upper reaches of the cold & dry Himalayas other livestock apart from Yak finds it difficult to survive. Its rearing is a socio-ecomomic lifeline for the pastoral nomads like the ‘Brokpas’ of Arunachal.
