Central team to visit Darjeeling, Kalimpong on Monday to assess Lumpy Skin Disease situation

YAWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMPONG, 21 MAY 2023: Darjeeling Lok Sabha MP Raju Bista Sunday met with Union Animal Husbandry Minister Purushottam Rupala and Minister of State Sanjeev Kumar Balyanand informed about the increasing cases of Lumpy Skin Disease in cattle in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts. 

According to information provided by Bista, despite the Centre asking all the state governments to complete vaccination against LSD in animals by April 30, 2023, due to negligence of the West Bengal Government in the Darjeeling hills, cases of LSD in animals have increased significantly in recent months. 

He requested the Ministers to determine the extent and severity of LSD spread in the affected districts, conduct epidemiological studies, establish diagnostic centers and allocate funds for establishing and increasing the number of diagnostic centers in the region, immediately to immunize animals from the disease in LSD-affected districts, conduct a vaccination programme, provide financial assistance and compensation to the farmers who had suffered losses due to this epidemic. 

He further said that the Ministers had assured him that they would send a Central team on Monday to assess the situation and take preventive measures. According to Bista, the Ministers had asked the West Bengal government to ensure that there was adequate availability of vaccines in the country and to ensure that all animals were vaccinated immediately, for which a fund of Rs.1.5 crore had been released to the West Bengal government for vaccination of animals. 

Bista said that he was grateful for this immediate and timely intervention by Minister Rupala and Minister of State Balyan. He said: “I believe that with the collective efforts of the Centre, local veterinarians, the Animal Husbandry Department officials and the administration, we will be able to stop this disease as soon as possible.

”A PIB release from Delhi added that the Department of Animal Husbandry had acted promptly to address concerns of livestock farmers in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts over suspected cases of LSD, “a devastating disease of cattle and buffaloes.

”Verified reports from the field indicated that there was no death of cattle due to LSD in Darjeeling and Kalimpong. About 400 unvaccinated cattle in Darjeeling and 2,000 in Kalimpong were infected. Out of these, 200 and 1,200 had already recovered. The treatment of the other infected cattle were already underway, including ring vaccination of cattle in the affected areas to check the spread of the disease. 

There was no report of LSD in sheep and goats. The Department had formulated a surveillance strategy. Diagnostic facilities were readily available in the region. The Regional Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory Kolkata had been authorized for surveillance of cattle through PCR testing. State had been asked regularly to undertake vaccination for prevention of the disease.

A Central team comprising one officer each from the North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory Guwahati and Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory Kolkata had been constituted to visit the affected areas and assess the ground situation.