Snow destroys grass in Humla's Limi, sparking fears over feeding livestock for six months

Snowfall has destroyed grass in Limi, Namkha Rural Municipality-6 in Humla, raising concerns about what to feed livestock over the next six months.

The village, located beyond the Himalayan range, received heavy snowfall on Asoj 10 and 11. According to locals, the snow destroyed not only grass in the forest but also grass near farmland. That period was normally when grass was cut and stored in sheds for winter. This year, cutting could not be completed before the snow fell.

Limi Ward Chair Paljor Tamang said that since grass could not be stockpiled, raising livestock through the winter would be difficult. A team led by the ward chair safely brought livestock stranded by the snowfall back to the village on Thursday.

Meanwhile, preliminary estimates from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment put losses to the livestock and fishery sectors alone from the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river floods in Bhadau at around Rs 1.03 billion. The assessment of the impact on regular income from these sectors has not yet been completed. Stakeholders say that since livestock and fish farming are the main source of income in many rural areas, the damage has had a serious effect on farmers' overall economic situation.