Bhopal: Lumpy virus created havoc among cattle across the country unexpectedly and till now 12 states and union territories have found cases of the lumpy virus. According to government figures, more than 11 lakh cattle have been affected by this and about 50,000 cattle would have died due to this infection. Although it is being claimed by the Central government that all measures are being taken to control the virus infection, in some states, due to a lack of cohesion with the Centre, it is coming to the fore that the livestock owners are facing problems.
Punjab is also one of the states where a large section is dependent on animal husbandry and agriculture. More than 60,000 cattle have been affected by the lumpy virus in the state and about 2,500 cattle have died. Seeing the worrisome situation, Dr. Amar Singh, Congress MP from Punjab's Sri Fatehgarh Sahib parliamentary constituency, met Union Animal Husbandry Minister, Purshottam Rupala and demanded immediate action to contain the virus by sending a special team to the state.
In an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat, Amar Singh said that his meeting with Union Minister Purshottam Rupala has been positive and he specifically discussed four points with him. There is almost a tenfold difference between the figures presented by the Dairy Association of Punjab and that of the Punjab Government. Obviously, the Punjab government has not been successful in effectively addressing the problem of cattle rearers.
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According to the Dairy Association, 1.25 lakh cattle have died so far and more than one lakh cattle are affected by the government figures. The Congress MP has appealed to the Union Minister to send a central team to conduct a proper survey and find out the actual figures. Punjab is an agricultural province where thirty to forty percent of the farmers' income is also dependent on cattle rearing.
If they lose the animal, their income will decrease by up to 50%. In such a situation, MP Amar Singh has also demanded from the central government to compensate such farmers. In order to control the effect of the virus, the government has made available the goat pox vaccine to the states. According to the information given by the ministry, there are currently 2.5 million goat pox vaccines available in the country.
But the requirement is about one crore vaccines and hence pharmaceutical companies have also been asked to increase production. As far as Punjab is concerned, about 6 lakh vaccine doses have been provided so far. The MP has requested the central government to also work on developing a separate vaccine for the lumpy virus. Along the lines of Covid, make packets of medicines for cattle also and develop them free of cost among the farmers.
By doing this, there will be confidence among the farmers that both the central and state government are working together to help them. Union Minister Rupala had a meeting with Punjab ministers and officials in Chandigarh on the issue of the lumpy virus. On Tuesday, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar also held a meeting of ministers and senior officials in this regard at Krishi Bhawan in Delhi.
The central government is constantly monitoring the situation, but despite this, the situation is said to be worrying. Due to this, in the coming time, it is expected to have a huge impact on the productivity of milk.
