A group of around 30 dairy farmers in Puducherry, led by the CPI (M), marched to the director’s office of the animal husbandry and animal welfare department on Wednesday, alleging poor facilities at the centre and negligence by staff.
In a list of complaints, the farmers alleged that recently a doctor from the department had administered a wrong medicine to a cow, leading to its death.
They also said that cattle were often taken away by municipality staff on the ground that they were found roaming on the roads. These cattle are not given proper food, leading to many of them dying or taking ill.
“Often, when these cows are taken away, they collect fines from us but do not give receipts for them,” said one of the farmers. Puducherry does not have any grazing area. The department can give a warning to the farmers instead of taking away the cows,” said R. Ragankam, CPI (M) secretariat member.
Addressing the issues raised by the farmers, the director of the animal husbandry and animal welfare department, Dr P. Padmanabhan said, “The farmers have given us a list of demands. I have told them to contact the veterinary team at each commune and if they are dissatisfied with the response, they can get in touch with me directly.
As regards the medicines, we have assured them that we have sufficient stock of medicines and vaccines to deal with sick animals and pets.
