Jughoor Elders Demand Ban on Goat Grazing After Repeated Floods

Bashir Hussain Azad

CHITRAL: Elders of Jughoor village have demanded an immediate and complete ban on goat grazing in the area, blaming uncontrolled grazing for environmental degradation and worsening the risk of flash floods that have repeatedly devastated the village.

Speaking at a press conference at the Chitral Press Club on Tuesday, prominent elders of Jughoor, including Haji Abdul Aziz, Bakhtiar Lal, Sarwar Kamal, Fazlur Rehman and Shujaur Rehman, expressed serious concern over the deteriorating environmental situation and urged the federal and provincial governments to take immediate action to protect Chitral’s fragile ecosystem.

The elders said Jughoor had been hit by three severe flash floods this year, causing widespread destruction. They claimed that more than 50 houses were washed away by floodwaters while hundreds of acres of agricultural land were damaged and rendered barren.

According to the community representatives, one of the major factors behind the worsening situation is excessive goat grazing in the mountain streams and pastures surrounding Jughoor. They claimed that more than 16,000 goats are being brought into the area, putting severe pressure on the local ecosystem.

The elders explained that large goat herds damage vegetation and weaken the soil and plant roots, leaving mountain slopes more vulnerable to erosion and flash floods during heavy rainfall.

They said members of the Gujjar community from Drosh, Golen and other nearby areas travel to Jughoor Gol during the summer because of the availability of extensive grazing grounds and abundant fodder. The elders alleged that despite a decision by the district administration to restrict goat grazing in the pastures, the order was being openly violated.

The community leaders described Jughoor as one of the most vulnerable areas in Chitral, saying residents are forced to live under constant fear of flash floods throughout the summer season. They said the repeated disasters have caused not only financial losses but also severe mental stress among local residents.

The elders further argued that the causes of flooding in the area are not entirely natural and are being intensified by human activity. They described excessive grazing as an “anthropogenic” factor that is contributing to land degradation, reducing vegetation cover and increasing the vulnerability of the area to floods.

They recalled that local residents had voluntarily stopped keeping and grazing goats nearly four decades ago to protect the environment and preserve the area’s natural resources. However, they alleged that people coming from outside the area later resumed large-scale grazing activities in the pastures.

The Jughoor elders welcomed the district administration’s decision to impose restrictions on goat grazing but stressed that the order would have little effect without strict enforcement. They urged the administration to take action against those violating the grazing restrictions.

Issuing a one-week deadline, the elders warned that if the district administration failed to fully and strictly implement the ban within seven days, the people of Jughoor would block the Chitral-Peshawar main road at Jughoor Gol to all traffic as a protest.

They said the proposed road blockade would be a last resort to draw attention to the environmental crisis facing the village and warned that responsibility for any resulting disruption would rest with the district administration.