Mumbai: Unvaccinated cows spread panic in Aarey

Even though the BMC and animal husbandry departments claimed to have vaccinated thousands of bovines in Mumbai in the wake of the spread of lumpy skin disease virus LSDV Aarey locals claim many cows on the outskirts are unvaccinated They fear spread of the disease among their cattle as many from the outskirts stray inside Aarey for grazingAccording to the data shared by the animal husbandry department 3206 out of 3226 cattle in Mumbai have been vaccinated as of Thursday This leaves only20 unvaccinated cattle as per the official dataHowever several cows were found to be unvaccinated on the outskirts of Aarey where midday paid a visit on Friday afternoon Several cattle owners from Durga Nagar leave their cows to graze inside Aarey Gabbar Yadav one of the owners told this paper that all his 12 cows that were grazing inside Aarey were unvaccinatedAlso read Mumbai Activists protest against Aarey Metro car shedldquoNobody from the BMC or other government officials approached us about the vaccination However I took the initiative and contacted them But I am still waiting for them to respond to my request Nobody has turned up yet There are hundreds of cows in the area like mine that are yet to be vaccinatedrdquo Gabbar told middayAnother cattle owner Ram Dular Yadav said ldquoI have heard about the disease but didnrsquot know that it had reached the neighbourhood My cows are not vaccinated yetrdquoldquoIrsquom ready to pay if they can vaccinate my cows and help usrdquo Ram saidFear of spreadAarey residents and owners of cattle farms and cowshed are concerned that unvaccinated cows may infect other livestock while straying inside AareyAn Aarey resident and owner of a licensed cowshed said ldquoThese cattle are unregistered We donrsquot have a problem with that but they are unvaccinated and left unchecked for grazing in and around Aarey There are high chances they will spread the disease to other livestock if they are infected with LSDV If we raise the issue it will create a conflict It is the responsibility of the BMC to vaccinate the bovinesrdquoMeanwhile another LSDV case was detected in a cow at a temple opposite Khar railway station on Thursday bringing the total number of cases in Mumbai to threeUnlicensed cowshedsA senior official of the animal husbandry department told midday ldquoDurga Nagar doesnrsquot come under Aarey it comes under the jurisdiction of the BMC and these cattle farmscow sheds are unlicensed But they have been in the profession for the past several yearsrdquoDr Shailesh Pethe deputy commissioner of Animal Husbandry Department Mumbai said ldquoWe have vaccinated 9938 per cent of the bovines in the Mumbai jurisdiction In Aarey we have vaccinated 1028 bovines There is no need to panic The spread is limited to cowclass The life of every cattle is important so we have vaccinated around 30 cowclass strays in Aareyrsquos vicinityrdquoDespite repeated attempts Kalim Pasha Pathan general manager of Deonar Abattoir did not respondCall for vaccinationAs per the BMC if someone wants to get their cattle vaccinated they can call on 02225563284 or 02225563285