JAIPUR: It's bad news for Raika community ­ the traditional herders of camel in Rajasthan. This year is expected to be the worst in the history of camel sale at the international animal fair in Pushkar.The number of camels at the fair has dwindled from 40,000 a decade ago to just 2,500 in the current edition.Octogenarian Poker Ram of Rabriyawas village in Pali has already started packing his belongings for the 12-15day return journey with his three unsold camels. He has taken a pledge not to visit the Pushkar fair again to sell camels. While the fair officially begins Tuesday, camel and other cattle deals start from October-end.“The maximum price offered for my three young camels in the 3-5-year age group was Rs 50,000. A decade back, I have sold camels of the same age for Rs 50,000 each. I used to take 60-70 grams of gold after the fair back home. This year, I have no money to feed myself on the way home,“ said Ram.The Raika community has been herding camels for the last seven centuries in western and central India. In Rajasthan, they constitute about one million of the population.They are landless and depend on the sale of camels to make ends meet.They are found predominantly in areas such as Jaisalmer, Sirohi, Pali, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Barmer. The community's only knows how to raise camels and sell them.The Raikas have claimed the status of an 'indigenous community' under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD).India is a signatory to UNCB which states that indigenous communities have a central role in biodiversity conservation through traditional practices.Hanumant Singh Rathore, director of Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan in Pali, said that camels were neither used in agriculture nor to transport goods, reducing their economic value. “The situation has aggravated after the state government declared it a state animal and introduced restrictions,“ Rathore said. Though young camels are mostly sold at the fair, the community makes some additional income by selling old cows that have stopped lactating.However, the fear of vigilante groups has prevented buyers from Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad and Bhopal from buying these camels this year. Another villager from Sojat city, Amana Ram, has decided to abandon four from his herd of 11 unsold camels in Pushkar. He has not been able to sell a single camel and the maximum price he was offered will fetch him only 10% of what he had invested in rearing them.Environmentalist Reepunjaya Singh, a professor of urban planning at the Rajasthan Institute of Public Administration (RIPA), says that camel grazing in the semi-arid region is good for vegetation. “Camels never overgraze unlike cattle.Another difference between the two is that camels graze rapidly while the cattle is slower and plucks up even the roots,“ Singh said.