Chidimar's traditional profession in crisis due to ban on bird hunting

By Siraj Khan, Nepalgunj, Nov 4: Ancestral profession of Chidimar (bird hunter) community of Hawaldarpur in Kohalpur Municipality-14 has faced crisis due to the ban on hunting of birds and animals.

Ram Prasad Chidimar, 50, of Hawaldarpur, said that hunting bird was not only a means of livelihood for them but also a part of cultural identity and that it needs to be preserved for the same reason.

He said he was worried the way ancestral profession had faced crisis and it was a means of livelihood for every household of Chidimar community.

How can we survive now that our profession is in danger and we have no alternative skill?, he asked.

Rajesh Chidimar pointed at the adverse changes on biodiversity and imbalance ecosystem as problems that augmented their crisis. Ban on bird hunting has created economic problems for us, he said, we are also losing our traditional skills due to the ban, and we have no choices for other profession due to lack of education and training.