Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala on Tuesday reviewed the vaccination of cattle in Punjab and Haryana in the wake of lumpy skin disease affecting a large number of animals and assured help from the Centre.
Rupala held meetings with Punjab Animal Husbandry Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar and Haryana's Animal Husbandry Minister J P Dalal here to review the situation in the two neighbouring states including availability of vaccine and arrangements being made by the state governments for prevention of the disease.
He later said that during his visit and meeting with the two ministers and officials from the two states he took a review of the vaccination process along with the available facilities for cows. Rupala said he assured them of the Centre's total help for the eradication of the disease and also encouraged them to carry out a larger number of vaccinations.
Punjab minister Bhullar raised the demand for arranging goat pox vaccine in adequate quantity for more than 25 lakh livestock. Bhullar said the state government has administered 2.05 lakh doses of vaccine to cattle till Monday evening. Fazilka, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Tarn Taran, Jalandhar and Amritsar are the most affected districts, he said.
Rupala directed the officials concerned from the two states to prepare isolation wards for affected animals to prevent the disease from spreading further. He later told reporters that both the state governments at their level are working at the ground level to check spread of the disease in animals.