245 mobile veterinary units for villages: Min

Madurai: As many as 245 mobile veterinary units will be made operational across Tamil Nadu to provide veterinary health care and services to the livestock and poultry in villages, Minister for Fisheries, Fishermen Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Anitha R Radhakrishnan said Saturday.

Inaugurating an awareness programme cum exhibition and seminar, organised by the Animal Husbandry Department through National Livestock Mission at Ramanujampudur, a remote village near Srivaikuntam in Thoothukudi district, Radhakrishnan said dedicated phone numbers would be introduced for cattle rearers to contact the mobile veterinary units for assistance.

He said the initiative will certainly help livestock farmers, especially those in remote villages.

The rural economy is based primarily on agriculture and livestock production, and these are the factors which improve and transform the lives of farmers. According to him, to further improve the livelihoods of farmers, the state government is offering subsidies, which motivate them to take up fodder as intercrop, Rs 3,000 per acre.

Further, he said the government is also paying more attention to cattle semen production, and facilities were also made available to store the frozen semen of cows and bulls and transport it to veterinary dispensaries. The ideal calving for dairy cattle is one year and the government is creating more awareness among livestock farmers for their economic support. Efforts are also on to bring up cooperative banks for the welfare of fishermen, he said.

The Minister also took stock of the exhibition of several native breeds of cattle and welfare schemes implemented for domesticated animals. Thoothukudi Collector K. Senthilraj, Srivaikuntam MLA Oorvasi S. Amirtharaj and officials from the Animal Husbandry Department were present.