Punjab: 25L vaccine doses airlifted to protect cattle from lumpy skin disease

Punjab Animal Husbandry Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Wednesday said the state government has airlifted 25 lakh doses of goat pox vaccine to carry out free vaccination campaign for early prevention of cattle from lumpy skin diseaseKeeping in mind last years situation when the state faced loss of livestock after the disease spread in Punjab from neighbouring states the state government has made foolproof strategy to ensure that it does not affect the farming community livestock and agrisubsidiary occupationsAlso readRepublic Day 2023 Parade highlights India showcases military mightComplying to the decision of the Group of Ministers constituted for the prevention of LSD and to make future strategy the state level mega vaccination campaign will be started from February 15 2023 said the Animal Husbandry Minister in a statement hereHe said all arrangements have been made to carry out the mega vaccination drive which will last for about 45 days and free vaccination will be administered to cattle till March 31Bhullar said 25 lakh vaccine doses have been procured from a government institution Telangana State Veterinary Biological and Research Institute HyderabadThese doses have been stored at Punjab Veterinary Vaccine Institute Ludhiana for dispatching to all districts of the state easily he saidHe said special care has been ensured to maintain the cold chain for the quality of the vaccine while transporting it from TelanganaBhullar said for effective implementation of the vaccination campaign a joint director level officer will be appointed as a nodal officer who will monitor daytoday progress and maintain coordination with other staffThe vaccination will be administered by forming teams at the level of animal hospitalinstitution and special attention will be paid to maintain cold chain during vaccination he saidAccording to an official statement the Lumpy Skin Disease had affected the cattle on a large scale in July last year About 175 lakh cattle were affected across the state and about 18000 cattle diedAmid the seriousness of LSD and to save the economy of the livestock farmers a Group of Ministers GoM comprising Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and Animal Husbandry Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar was formed which held regular meetings with the experts of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University LudhianaThe government had airlifted 1016 lakh doses at a cost of Rs154 crore last year and 92 lakh cattle were vaccinated free of costThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever