Rajasthan Animal Husbandry Minister Lal Chand Kataria on Tuesday said saving cows and other cattle from lumpy skin disease is the government's top priority. He said the animals are being vaccinated on a war footing and the government is also ensuring adequate supply of drugs to prevent the disease.
The minister was speaking during a discussion on the lumpy skin disease in the Assembly. While asserting that there has been no laxity in saving animals, Kataria said the state government will consider all the suggestions given by the members in the House.
Currently, goat pox vaccines are being administered to the cattle. Kataria said while the Centre is ensuring adequate supply of vaccines, the state government has been bearing its entire cost.
To overcome shortage of manpower, the minister said 200 veterinarians have been appointed on a temporary but urgent basis and 1,436 livestock assistants are being recruited. He informed the House that 730 of these assistants have already been given postings.
Further, he said, the government has conducted exams to recruit 900 veterinarians and that the process of verifying documents of selected candidates has also been completed.
Asserting that the state government has always been sensitive towards cows, Kataria said as soon as the current government was formed four years ago, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot increased the grant for gaushalas from six months to nine months.
"The current dispensation has given a grant of over Rs 2,000 crore to gaushalas in four years, which is more than four times the Rs 499 crore given in five years during the previous government's tenure," he said.
Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria and other BJP legislators accused the government of being negligent and walked out the House saying they were not satisfied with the minister's reply.
According to the animal husbandry department data furnished on Monday, 59,027 cattle have died due to lumpy skin disease and 13,02,907 have been affected. A total of 10,80,967 animals in the state have been vaccinated.
(With PTI Inputs)
