JAIPUR: At a time when lumpy skin disease is fast spreading among cattle in Rajasthan, the Jaipur Municipal Corporation-Heritage has failed to release funds to the state-owned Hingonia cow shelter, which presently houses 13,600 bovines.
The dise ase has made inroads to the shelter and a total of 117 cows were found infected, till Thursday. However, in absence of funds, Sri Krishna Balram Seva Trust, handling opera tion and maintenance of the gaushala is struggling to take extra pr ecaution to prevent the viral disease.
"While chief minister Ashok Gehlot claims that the state government is making every possible effort to prevent lumpy skin disease in bovines, the ground reality is quite different. There is a shortage of veterinarians and facilities in both urban and rural areas. In Jaipur, the Congress-led board in the heritage municipal corporation has failed to cooperate with the state government and continues to sit on funds that can be utilised to save bovines and prevent the spread of the disease. Rajasthan’s biggest cow shelter, Hingonia, is also facing an acute fund crunch as the municipal body has not been releasing its share for the last five to seven months. The state must intervene to ensure that the funds are released at the earliest and provide proper facilities to treat cows.-TimesView"
On August 2, the trust had also written a letter to chief minister Ashok Gehlot to intervene in the matter as the gaushala is grappling with shortage of funds and health of the cows was getting affected. However, nothing has been done in the ma tter so far.
With over Rs 4. 05 crore of unsettled dues on corporations coupled with rising cattle population at the gaushala, sheltering the bovines during the disease is becoming a herculean task for the part ner foundation.
Raghupati Das, in-charge at the centre said, “JMC-Heritage has not clear ed the entir e dues for the past seven months. For January, February, March, only partial payment was done. At this time, a proper nutritious feed is required for the cows, which are infected or to save them from virus. An expenditure of Rs 2. 10 crore is required per month at the shelter. It’s not possible to fight these difficult situationsw
ith limited resources. ”
The cow shelter with the present population requir es appr oximately 75 tonne fodder and 16,000 kg cattle feed per day worth Rs 7 lakh. As over 30 – 40 stray cows are brought to shelter from the city, the situation is expected to becom e grimmer in absence of funds.
Asource said, on October 28, 2017, Sri Krishna Balram Seva T rust (SKBT) entered into an agreement with the JMC for daily management of cattle rehabilitation after mass deaths were wit nessed. “Every day the shelter is receiving 4 to 5 cows suffering from the lumpy skin disease. As there is shortage of funds, we are not able to pr ovide appropria te fodder and cattle feed. Currently bovines at the shelter requir e extra attention. The g overnment should act to prevent the mass deaths at the shelter again,” said a source at Hingonia.
