• Administer free booster doses of HS vaccine to all susceptible livestock by September 30, Gurmeet Khudian directs officials
• Multi-pronged campaign focuses on mass inoculation, disinfection, emergency care & nutritional feed to support distressed livestock farmers
• Entire veterinary machinery pressed into service in mission mode to protect backbone of our rural economy, says Khudian
Chandigarh , September 14:
In a decisive response to protect the state’s vital livestock population from the devastating aftermath of recent floods, the Punjab Animal Husbandry department has rolled out a comprehensive & time-bound Action Plan to mitigate the severe risks including waterborne diseases, foot-rot and parasitic infections. Notably, these floods have impacted 2.53 lakh animals across 713 villages.
Revealing the comprehensive action plan, Punjab Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian said that the department has chalk out the action plan to protect the livestock from stagnant flood water-borne diseases including Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS), Foot-Rot, Mastitis, Tick-Borne infection, Skin infection, Gastroenteritis and secondary infections & nutritional shortages. The multi-pronged campaign focusing on mass vaccination, disinfection and emergency care to support distressed livestock farmers.
“Our livestock is the backbone of our rural economy. In the wake of this natural calamity, we are committed to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our farmers,” stated S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian, while adding that this is not just a relief effort; it is a critical mission to prevent epidemic outbreaks and ensure the health and productivity of millions of animals, thereby securing the livelihoods of our farmers. We are deploying our entire veterinary machinery in campaign mode to leave no animal or farmer behind.
Highlighting the key components of the Action Plan, S. Khudian said that intensive cleaning and disinfection of all affected livestock shelters and feeding areas will be undertaken under Rapid Clean-Up & Disinfection drive and Large-scale fogging operations in collaboration with Local Government Departments to control vector-borne diseases. The department will also distribute Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) crystals to farmers free of cost for disinfecting water troughs and creating foot-dips to prevent fatal infections like Foot-Rot. All these measures will be implemented by September 21, 2025.
Under the Emergency Vaccination Protocol, the Animal Husbandry department teams will administer free booster doses of Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS) vaccine to all susceptible livestock by September 30. Additionally, doorstep health monitoring and treatment services will be provided to ensure the well-being of animals. Teams of veterinary officers and para-staff are conducting daily village visits to monitor animals for signs of stress, injuries and disease symptoms to ensure prompt intervention and care, he added.
The Animal Husbandry Minister said that the department will also distribute essential medicines, mineral mixtures (Uromin Licks), and silage free of cost to combat nutritional deficiencies and disease, while ensuring supply and distribution of chlorine tablets with coordination of the Health Department to ensure access to safe drinking water for animals.
Principal Secretary Animal Husbandry Mr. Rahul Bhandari informed that a robust monitoring framework has also been established, featuring a special Post-Flood Monitoring Team headed by the Director of Animal Husbandry. Deputy Directors in the affected districts are responsible for ground-level execution and are required to submit daily progress reports for review. To ensure efficacy and transparency, random physical checks of 20% of reported sites will be conducted daily. He also directed the field staff that these efforts be extended to all flood-affected villages based on local assessment, beyond the initially identified 713 villages.
He further informed that special awareness and treatment camps are being organised in all affected villages in coordination with local panchayats and NGOs to deliver aid directly at livestock farmers’ doorsteps.
