Jalandhar August 31 : Seeking an immediate relief to the affected livestock owners, the Mahila Kisan Union, a constituent of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, has asked the Government of India to declare the lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle as pandemic, which had already spread across more than seven states.
In a letter to the Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Mahila Kisan Union (MKU) President Biba Rajwinder Kaur Raju demanded that the infectious disease be designated as a ‘national calamity’ as LSD has affected milking cattle in large numbers in the states of India including Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan thereby affected production and marketing of milk to the consumers.
The women farmers leader bemoaned that this disease has been causing thousands of deaths of milking animals which has caused financial losses to the livestock owners but the governments have not provided any relief to the depressed owners on the lines of aid or assistance being provided to the industrialists. “The way cows succumb to this disease is very painful and unimaginable”, she deplored.
Biba Raju said “The animals dead with LSD are being disposed of in an unscientific manner whereas infected are being unchained in the open to roam about thereby causing infection to spread.
MKU leader added that there was no continuous monitoring of the emergent situation either by the concerned union ministry or the state government for effective prevention of the disease at grassroots level which shows their sheer carelessness towards livestock owners and farmers.
Giving more details women leader said the LSD, being a contagious viral disease must be declared as pandemic immediately so that the affected states could get relief from disaster relief funds and effective treatment could be provided at earliest. She revealed that more than one lakh cattle has been affected by the LSD and about 40,000 animals had died in Punjab since the outbreak of LSD.
Biba Raju also demanded compensation for piggery farmers who have been facing financial losses due to culling of animals infected with African swine fever in the state.
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