Vaccination will be taken up on a large-scale in all districts where cattle have been afflicted by foot-and-mouth disease and the services of retired veterinarians will be utilised to help solve the problem, said Minister for Law and Animal Husbandry T.B. Jayachandra on Monday.
Speaking to presspersons here, the Minister said that his department will recruit men to fill 5,500 posts of veterinarians, including group D officials, who would be entrusted with the job of vaccinating animals, including sheep and goats.
Across the world, he said, vaccination was the only solution to stem the disease. Appointment to these posts had not been done for the last eight years, he added.
Mr. Jayachandra said that the disease was confined to six districts, including Ramanagaram and Channapatna areas.
Technical team
He said that an eight-member technical experts committee, headed by a former vice-chancellor Srinivasa Gowda, to study the spread of the disease had been constituted. The committee would present a report in a week. Its recommendations would be studied and feasible suggestions implemented.
On the demand from Opposition parties, including those from the BJP, that a minimum of Rs. 25,000 should be given per cow lost, he appealed to them to educate farmers on vaccinating their cattle, instead of politicising the issue.
