Punjab: Five veterinary officers dismissed
In a bold move to address negligence and absenteeism, Punjab Animal Husbandry Department on Thursday terminated the services of five veterinary officers with immediate effect.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, on Saturday, demanded a compensation of Rs 50,000 per cattle head to dairy farmers whose milch animals had fallen prey to Lumpy Skin disease (LSD).
The SAD president alleged thousands of cattle in the state had fallen prey to LSD since July but the Aam Aadmi Party government was still indulging in propaganda and advertisements.
I urge @BhagwantMann to wake up & imm release Rs 50,000 per cattle head to dairy farmers whose milch animals have died due to LSD. Besides, the CM must also revoke his govt’s SHAMEFUL order compelling village panchayats to provide money for purchasing medicines to tackle LSD. 2/2
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— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) August 20, 2022
“No effort is being made to take concrete steps at the ground level by coming to the aid of dairy farmers by compensating them for their cattle loss as well as preventing the further spread of the disease,” he commented.
Badal said while there were reports that nearly 40,000 cattle perished to the disease, the government was yet to come up with an exact count.
“Farmers have lost between Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh per milch animal to this killer disease which has crippled the dairy sector and is set to result in a setback to the State’s push to diversification of farmer income. Despite this the government has not released any compensation to dairy farmers,” he mentioned.
Badal also underlined that the government was not releasing money to the animal husbandry department to tackle the spread of the disease. “A report has come in from Muktsar stating that in the absence of any funds being received from the animal husbandry department, the district administration has asked village panchayats to provide money for purchasing medicines to tackle lumpy skin disease,” he added.
Badal said it was puzzling that the government had consumed Rs 37 Crore in advertisements in two months alone but was finding it tough to release a few crore for buying medicines to tackle the disease.
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