Under debt, Punjab farmers seek aid to tackle lumpy skin disease

Sangrur, August 26

Already reeling under a heavy debt, the outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD) has caused further financial loss to farmers. In Sangrur and Malerkotla districts, 1,447 head of cattle have died due to the LSD and over 6,100 cows have got the infection.

Officials face protest in Patiala

• Patiala MC officials on Friday faced protest while burying cattle at their own site in Falauli village
• MC Commissioner Aaditya Uppla said, “We can bury animals outside the corporation limits on government land.”

“The LSD has caused monetary loss to farmers. Neither has the state government announced any financial aid for farmers nor has it made proper arrangements for treating the infected cattle. I know many farmers who took loans to purchase cattle,” said Dharminder Pashore of the BKU (Ugrahan).

Sources in the Animal Husbandry Department said they had vaccinated 38,617 cows and 3,156 animals had recovered from the LSD in the district so far. A total of 1,447 head of cattle died in Sangrur and Malerkotla districts.

Gursher Singh of Sangrur said, “Financial assistance seems to be a distant dream. The government has failed to make adequate arrangements to bury the carcasses.”

Officials said the fatality rate and number of fresh cases had come down.

Dr Sukhvinder Singh, Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry Department, said, “We have deputed 70 teams in Sangrur and Malerkotla districts to tackle the LSD. Though the infection rate has come down, infected cows are dying due to various complications.”

“So far, there’s no direction from the government related to financial aid to the farmers. However, we are preparing a record of the affected farmers,” said Dr Sukhvinder.

Meanwhile, 7,326 head of cattle of 1.24 lakh have been infected with the LSD in Patiala district. A total of 714 head of cattle died due to the disease. The department said the cases were on the decline.