Yogi government sets record in lumpy virus vaccinations

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has set a target of four lakh lumpy skin disease (LSD) vaccinations a day.

The government has already set a record of having administered 1.25 lakh doses of the goat pox vaccine for curbing the spread of disease among cattle.

It aims to administer 1.50 crore doses by October end.

According to the government spokesman, at present, 5,962 villages in 31 UP districts are affected by the virus.

With less than one per cent, Uttar Pradesh also has the lowest virus-related death rate among the states where it has been reported.

Additional chief secretary, animal husbandry, Rajneesh Dube said there are roughly 96,000 infected cattle in the state, of which 78,000 have been inoculated.

"We have so far given 1.25 crore doses of the goat pox vaccine. A target of around 4 lakh shots each day has been set," he said.

The department had administered one lakh doses by October 12, a feat considering it was achieved in 40 days.

A government spokesperson said the directions have been issued to each district to report infected or dead cattle due to LSD immediately to the headquarters. To stop spread of the virus, the panchayati raj and urban development departments have collaborated to carry out the spraying of anti-larval medicine in villages.

Meanwhile, the state will also get to cow shelters with a capacity of 2,000-3,000 cattle. Dube said that a campaign to sensitise people towards cattle is being carried out in the state.

Under various schemes, the government has given 1.50 lakh cows to cattle rearers in the state so far.

Against a sanctioned strength of 303 shelters, currently there are 228 cow shelters active in the state. Another 75 are under construction.

Layouts for construction of at least 2-3 cow shelters with a capacity of 2,000-3,000 each in every development block, have also been prepared.

Proposals for these have been received from 24 districts till now.

For a shelter with a capacity of 2,000 cows, 27-acre land is needed for which the expected expenditure is Rs 8. 33 crore.

For those with a capacity of 3,000 cattle, 40-acre land will be needed and the cost of the project will be around Rs 12.08 crore.