Herds of buffaloes in remote Padma pastures of Ishwardi

Ishwardi (Pabna) Correspondent :

The herd owners are getting benefit from buffalo herds in the remote Padma pastures of Ishwardi. About half a hundred herds have been raised in the vast green meadows of Padma Char. The herdsmen are busy all day with milking the buffaloes, weighing the milk, grazing the buffaloes in the field and eating and drinking themselves from the early morning.
Around 30 kms from the city, Lakshikunda’s remote grasslands can be seen in Chararchar and Charabhwanipur, where hundreds of buffaloes roam the charr meadows waking up in the hot afternoon. Many shepherds are standing with umbrellas. Each herd consists of 100 to 400 buffaloes. Shelter of shepherds at the end of the day in polythene or triple tents. And the buffaloes live under the open sky. The Ghoshals employed by the Bathan owners start collecting buffalo milk at dawn. Shepherds and Ghoshals cook together by conveying milk to traders. After eating, the shepherds go out to graze the buffaloes. Life is going on with the same rules every day. The herdsmen change their place every one-and-a-half months. From Bagha in Rajshahi to Degreecharchar in Ishwardi, from Talbaria Char in Mirpur in Kushtia to Charabhbanipur Char in Sadar Upazila of Pabna, the vast padma pastures have been turned into buffalo pastures.
The herd owner Bablu Mondal said that there are 150 small and big buffaloes in his herd. Two shepherds and he looked after. He started herding with 20 buffaloes and lived on the river for twenty years. Battling with storms, rains and nature, Padma has to stay in the remote pastures. In addition to dealing with hot summer winds and cold currents, there is the fear of robbers or terrorists.
Jahangir Hossain, the buffalo owner of Sahebnagar Char of Sara Union, said that the most difficult thing is that recently those who have leased the land of Char from the government, they have to graze buffalo at a high price. The cost would have been lower if the owners could have taken the lease directly. Shepherds work on a monthly contract of Tk. 5,000 to 15,000.