Jammu, August 22- A large number of bovine animals especially cows are infected and dying due to wide spread disease in several parts in Jammu division but the government is sleeping and has not initiated serious campaign to save them.
Talking to a select group of media persons, Senior Congress Leader and former MLC Mr. Ravinder Sharma expressed great concern over the widespread infection to a large number of bovine animals especially cows, in the Jammu division and lashed out at the government for its failure to launch save animals campaign by pressing into service men and resources.
Mr. Sharma said that animals are suffering a lot and farmers are facing great hardships due to lack of adequate human resources, facilities, and medicine/vaccines with the department in the periphery. A large number of animals are infected in the entire rural belt but no major initiative is seen on the ground by the government.
He said during his tour of several parts of Sunderbani- Kalakote – Nowshera areas in Rajouri district, he found a large number of cows having been severely infected with the prevalent disease but farmers are finding themselves helpless in the absence of adequate arrangements in place by the government.
He said that due to the shrinking of job and business opportunities post demonetization and Covid -19, the rural population is more and more dependent on the selling of milk and milk products and have started keeping bovine animals but this disease has been causing havoc.
Mr. Sharma appealed to the Lt Governor to immediately direct more effective measures and campaign to save cows and press into service all trained resources and other facilities in all parts to save animals and the economically distressed farmers.