VIJAYPUR, SEPTEMBER 01, 2022: Apni Party Provincial President Jammu and Former Minister, S. Manjit Singh today appealed to the Govt to declare Lumpy Skin Disease which has infected and become the cause of large-scale deaths of the cattle in Jammu as a natural calamity and compensation for the affected farmers/dairy farm owners.
Addressing a monthly meeting of Party leaders and workers at Vijaypur, he was apprised by the participants that the farmers and cattle rearing people have suffered huge losses due to the death of their cattle infected with the Lumpy Skin Diseases.
In his address referring to their concerns, S. Manjit Singh assured them that they will highlight the issues before the authorities.
“Farmers in the border belt of Jammu, Samba, and Kathua have lost their cattle who were infected with Lumpy Skin Disease. These cattle were their sole source of earning but they have lost them and there are no other means for them,” he said and demanded that the Govt should announce the widespread disease as a natural calamity and accordingly the affected farmers should be compensated.
He said that the people are worried that the infected cattle may not further spread when the cattle come into contact. “The medical teams with medicines and vaccination should be deployed in every village of these border districts of Jammu, Samba, and Kathua,” he added.
He further said that “The farmers have lost their cattle and they should be compensated accordingly by the Govt. The dairy farm owners have also suffered huge losses due to the death of their cattle and the people have also become cautious following the spread of the virus.”
Meanwhile, the Former Minister demanded canal water at the tail end border villagers for irrigation purposes, a regular supply of drinking water, and an uninterrupted electricity supply.
“The people are dependent upon these things and the Govt has not been able to redress their long pending demands. The watering of the fields depends on the canal water which hardly reaches at the tail end village in border areas and the concerned department should ensure supply of the canal water,” he said.
He also demanded compensation for the heavy rains that affected people who lost their houses, agricultural land, and boundary walls in the monsoon season in the Jammu plains.
He said that the concerned departments conducted the assessment of the losses but the compensation was not distributed to the affected farmers and tribals who have been affected due to heavy rains and flash floods.