In times to come, mobile veterinary ambulances would reach the needy livestock owner in half an hour, Sanjeev Balyan, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying announced on Wednesday.
While addressing the “75 Entrepreneurs and Indigenous Livestock Breeds” event here, the minister said: “We have recently launched this service. We have invested three times the money. Under this, the sick animal intended to at its place. Just like today you call 100 numbers and the police come in five minutes, these mobile veterinary ambulances will reach the sick animal in half an hour.”
“The scheme is being implemented now and the demand is increasing by the day. I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes the best success story of our department,” Balyan said.
Earlier, Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, too had drawn attention to the facility started by the Modi government. “The veterinary hospitals are few and far. A farmer’s cow has a broken leg. He had to lug the cow to the district hospital. Now it will change. An ambulance will reach the animal now.”
The Centre is funding the ambulance project that is already launched in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Gujarat. Under this, when a distress call from the livestock owner is received at any time of the day at the Emergency Response Centre, basic details are collected and information disseminated to the nearest ambulance. The ambulance along with the veterinary doctor and assistant reaches the doorstep of the livestock owner, assesses the condition of the sick cattle, and provides the on-site treatment.
After the inauguration, the event focused on three technical thematic sessions: increasing productivity and improving animal health; value addition and market linkages, and innovation and technology.
Hundreds of farmers from across the country were invited to the event. There were dozen-odd stalls by innovative entrepreneurs that sold processed products derived from livestock, including that cow dung.