PONDA: Dairy farmers in Sattari and Ponda have a cause to worry as the Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) keeps spreading, the government has looked the other way and even failed to conduct vaccination drive to arrest the disease from spreading its infectious tentacles further.
The All Goa Dudh Udpadak Utkarsh Sangatana (Milk producing farmers association) President Sanjeev Cucolienkar addressing media alongwith office bearers said that the authorities have miserably failed to conduct a vaccination drive on time to immunise cattle against LSD, foot and mouth and other related diseases as a result of which the sickness has spread far and wide in Sattari, Ponda and other talukas.
“ The disease has already spread and animals are infected everywhere. It’s time the authorities act and help the farmers to prevent it from spreading further,” said Cucolienkar and lamented the fact that neither life-saving drugs nor vaccines are provided to the ryots to save their cattle.
He hit out at the government for failing to take up the wake up call and immunising cattle against LSD when there was an outbreak in Gujarat and Rajasthan. “The government had four months to act and vaccinate cattle but did nothing as a result LSD is spreading to other parts of the State as well,” says Cucolienkar.
He said that the stray cattle infected with LSD move around freely and mix up with milk producing animals thereby infecting them and affects milk production as well.
“Mass vaccination of animals against LSD and foot-and mouth disease is the only way out to stop it from spreading further,” stated Cucolienkar and called upon the government to compensate those farmers who lost their animals due to LSD.
