BJP holds massive protest in Jaipur over cattle deaths due to lumpy skin disease
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a massive protest on Tuesday in Jaipur over the death of thousands of cattle in Rajasthan due to the lumpy skin disease. The rising Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) cases have killed over 57,000 cattle in Rajasthan and affected another 11 lakh till now.
A video tweeted by news agency ANI showed the BJP workers clashing with cops in the city and Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia climbing atop a police barricade during the party’s protest in Jaipur.
Protesters clashed with the police, breaking barricades and raising slogans after they were prevented from marching to the state assembly.
#WATCH | A huge crowd of BJP members gather in protest in Rajasthan's Jaipur over the death of thousands of cattle in the state due to lumpy skin disease pic.twitter.com/8WpMtW3n1O
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2022
Earlier, in an unusual incident on Monday, Pushkar BJP MLA Suresh Rawat reached the Rajasthan assembly with a cow in tow. He said the aim was to protest against the spread of lumpy disease in livestock. As soon as the BJP MLA reached the spot and started giving a statement, the cow ran away.
The viral disease has hit milk collection in Jaipur. This has consequentially drove the prices of sweets higher up in the state. According to Jaipur Dairy Federation, the biggest milk cooperative in the state, milk collection is down by 15-18 per cent, though there has so far been no disruption in supply.
Also read: Explained: What is lumpy skin disease; symptoms, vaccine
Gehlot takes note
On September 19, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had taken note of the issue and said that the addressal of the lumpy disease is the state government’s priority. However, he added, the vaccines have to be given by the Centre.
“I called a meeting on August 15 regarding lumpy skin disease and called the leaders of the opposition, talked to everyone, talked to the religious leaders, our priority is how to save the lives of cows from lumpy skin disease, but the central government will give the vaccines and medicines,” tweeted CM Gehlot.
The Rajasthan CM has also demanded that the central government declare lumpy disease as a national calamity.
On August 10, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar had launched the indigenous vaccine Lumpi-ProVac to protect livestock from lumpy skin disease with an aim to provide relief to the livestock of the country.
The vaccine has been developed by the National Equine Research Centre, Hisar (Haryana) in collaboration with the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izzatnagar (Bareilly).
Other affected states
Apart from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab are among other states where cases have been reported. In Punjab too, the opposition has slammed the ruling AAP over the matter. “Lumpy Skin Disease is ravaging livestock in Punjab. Hundreds of bovines have died and thousands are severely infected with this contagious disease that is causing enormous economic loss to our farmers and dairy owners. Unfortunately, AAP-led Punjab govt has failed to do the needful,” former Union minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal had said in a tweet.
In Maharashtra, the government has formed a state-level task force to control the spread.
Also read: 173 cases of lumpy virus found among cattle in Delhi, no death reported so far
Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease among cattle, which was originally found in Africa. “It is transmitted by blood-feeding insects, such as certain species of flies and mosquitoes, or ticks. It causes fever, nodules on the skin and can also lead to death, especially in animals that that have not previously been exposed to the virus,” says the official website of the European Food Safety Authority. Vaccinations and culling of infected animals are among the control options.
(With agency inputs)
