Lead story: Veterinary care needs boost in this border district

Veterinary facilities in the border district of Tarn Taran have been adversely hit because of a severe shortage of veterinary officers. As a result, livestock farmers are facing problems. There are 61 veterinary hospitals and 56 veterinary dispensaries in the district. At the district headquarters in Tarn Taran, there is a Veterinary Polyclinic for pet vaccination and gastroenteritis treatment. The number of veterinary hospitals and dispensaries has not been revised with the increase in cattle head which is 2.83 lakh. Its present strength has not been revised since 1974 when the cattle head was just 35,000.

Dr Munish Kumar Gupta, Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry Department, said that against 61 veterinary hospitals, there are 36 VOs working in the district. The department has made alternative arrangements by assigning duty to the nearby VO.

At the district headquarters in Tarn Taran, veterinary facilities were provided even before partition. There are reports that about 25 veterinary hospitals were facing closure for lack of Veterinary Officers (VOs) and the department had just made alternative arrangements just to look after their working in case of an emergency.

At the district headquarters in Tarn Taran, there is a Veterinary Polyclinic which is listed as a pet vaccination facility and offers a range of veterinary services, including gastroenteritis treatment and tick baths. The post of gynaecologist is vacant here.

Kewal Kumar, Sarpanch of Chohla Sahib village, said that the veterinary hospital which had been working in the village before partition (1947) has been facing closure for more than 10 years. He said that the large covered area in the hospital complex itself was evidence that the government at the time of constructing the building, had made arrangements for the residence of the Veterinary Officer round the clock and for the subordinate staff too as these residences are damaged.

Sarpanch Kewal Kumar, who is associated with the ruling AAP, said that he has brought the matter to the notice of the officials concerned of the department and his political bosses many a time but nothing positive has been done so far. He said that in Chohla Sahib village itself, there are more than 25,000 cattle and the pet caretakers often have to seek medical services for their animals in case of need. He said that in the absence of qualified veterinary officers, they have to approach unqualified persons who exploit the pet caretakers by administering their own medicines. He said that there are many dairy farms with more than 100 cattle each who have been facing the problem of lack of qualified veterinary services since long. He said that this Veterinary Hospital was the centre-point for as many as 30 villages in the area for providing vet services but due to their closure, the pet farmers were facing problems.

The veterinary hospital, Chabal, with a pet animal population of more than 10,000 too is facing closure for the last many years. The deputy director of the department said the process of appointing Vet Inspectors is in the pipeline and the rest of the hospitals would start working soon.

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Amritsar