- Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura
A mass-vaccination drive for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) – a contagious infection affecting livestock animals has commenced in Tripura, for the next 45 days across the state.
Following the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), a flagship scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September, 2019 for control of Foot & Mouth Disease, it is revealed that 6.23 lakh animals have been vaccinated out of an estimated 7.46 lakh cattle and livestock animals in the state.
In a press conference at Civil Secretariat here in Agartala city, Animal Resource Development minister Bhagaban Chandra Das said that the second round of vaccination of cattle and livestock animals started from Thursday. Appealing to all cattle rearers across the state, he urged them to reach out to veterinary dispensaries and hospitals to get their animals vaccinated.
The central government has allocated Rs 7,38,054 for Tripura for the ongoing vaccination project, he added.
The minister said that some financial assistance has also been allocated in the case of animal vaccination.
The vaccinator will be paid Rs 26 for vaccinating large animals and Rs 11 for small animals. He appealed to the animal keepers to follow all the hygiene rules of the COVID-19 rules to take their cattle to the nearest vaccination center and vaccinate their cattle in the current corona climate. He said that registration must be done by wearing earrings during vaccination.
Das said that this vaccination process will continue in different phases for the next 5 years across the country. It is through the success of this vaccination that the animals will be completely freed from foot and mouth disease.
