It's a different matter that the Centre would find it very hard to lift any ban. There would be tremendous international pressure, says an official. China is already saying India isn't doing enough to protect the chiru.
The government is now waiting for final responses to the draft report from the J&K government and the state chamber of commerce. "They are taking their time," says a source. The committee will hold on since it wants to include the responses in the report. And, it's in no hurry since the report "will not be changing the status quo".
Obviously, the committee wasn't convinced by arguments that traders just 'harvest' the wool the animal sheds. The fact that it's killed is accepted the world over. "Only some people here say it isn't," says a source.
Nor are there may takers for arguments that the chiru is found in adequate numbers on the Indian side. The numbers here are "very, very small", says a source, dismissing arguments that the wool isn't smuggled.
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