Lumpy skin disease: Milk prices up, work on war footing, Hooda tells Haryana govt

“The government should put proper emphasis on disease treatment, sampling and vaccination. Arrangements should be made to organise medical camps in every village and keep infected animals away from the healthy ones. Along with the government, animal owners also need to take special precautions to prevent infection spread,” he said.

The former Chief Minister also demanded special grants and compensation for cattle farmers and gaushalas. “Destitute animals are being taken out from the gaushalas under compulsion, due to lack of proper grant from the government,” he said.

“We demand that the government give a grant of ₹ 50 per day per cow to the gaushalas for upkeep of stray cattle. If the government does this, then not a single destitute animal will be found on the road. This demand of gaushalas was also raised by the Congress in the Vidhan Sabha, but no attention was paid to it by the government which is leading to a situation where helpless cattle have to bear the brunt,” he said.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that during the Congress government, he had started the animal insurance scheme for just ₹ 100, but the BJP government put a stop to it later.

“Not only livestock owners, but common people also have to bear the brunt of this neglect of the government as there has been a huge reduction in milk production because of the disease, which has led to an increase in the price of milk. Keeping in mind the widespread impact of the disease, the government will have to prepare a special strategy to overcome the disease,” Hooda said.