The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Friday asked the administration to act fast to check the spread of the lumpy skin disease among animals across Jammu Kashmir.
Expressing concern over the spread of the disease, the party’s Zone Presidents Dr Bashir Ahmed Veeri, Ali Muhammad Dar, Javed Dar, Javed Rana, Sajad Ahmed Kichloo, Abdul Gani Malik, Babu Rampal said the disease has emerged as a threat to the rural economy and a cause of distress among the rural households, which depend on selling milk to make ends meet.
Lamenting the inaction of the government in checking the spread of the disease, they said that there was no monitoring in the villages and no adequate deployment of resources to tackle the situation.
“While the disease is ravaging the lives of cattle farmers, administration continues to remain unfazed. Government has not shown the necessary urgency to deal with the situation so far. Most of the farmers are illiterate and aren’t aware of the measures that are vital to stopping the progression of this deadly disease,” they said.
Asking the administration to rise to the situation, the functionaries demanded speedy initiation of vaccination and other bio security measures to curb the progression of the disease. Seeking proper disposal of the carcasses, leaders asked the admin to come up with a proper protocol and mechanism to dispose off the Cattle Carcasses.
“Improper disposal of dead cattle that died from lumpy skin disease created panic and is turning out to be a big issue. People living around such open dumping sites have expressed their concern. It is the responsibility of the divisional and district admin to pass necessary directions to the local urban local bodies for ensuring proper burial of the dead animals,” they added.
The leaders also sought compensation for those whose livestock is being hit by LSD and have urged the LG admin to come up with an economic package for affected farmers.(KNS)