595 head of cattle died in Mysore of FMD: official report

Deaths in T. Narsipur taluk put at 323

Devadas, Deputy Director of Department of Animal Husbandry, has said that one or two cattle deaths are still being reported from certain parts of the district. Photo: M.A. Sriram

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has claimed 595 head of cattle so far in Mysore district, with T. Narsipur taluk registering 323 deaths, according to the official report complied from all seven taluks in the district on Wednesday.

The first incident of FMD outbreak in the district was reported at Bannur in T. Narsipur taluk in the second week of August.

All 595 cases will now be eligible to receive compensation. Among other taluks, as many as 77 head of cattle each died in H.D. Kote and K.R. Nagar taluks, 43 in Hunsur taluk, 15 in Periyapatna taluk and four in Nanjangud taluk, all of which will be eligible for compensation. Most of the dead animals were calves.

Deputy Director of Department of Animal Husbandry, Devadas, told

The Hindu that one or two cattle deaths were still being reported from certain parts of the district. The department, which received reports from all taluks following a mahajar conducted by the committee set up for the purpose, including veterinarians, has sent a proposal to the Commissionerate of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services to release Rs. 20.69 lakh for compensation to 124 beneficiaries in the four taluks — four in Nanjangud, 39 in Hunsur, 66 in K.R. Nagar and 15 in Periyapatna, Dr. Devadas said.

As per the government order, compensation for the death of a cow will be a maximum of Rs. 25,000, followed by Rs. 20,000 for a bullock and buffalo and Rs. 10,000 each for calves.

In all, as many as 91 veterinarians were involved in tackling the problem in Mysore district so far, apart from veterinary inspectors and other employees.

Meanwhile, the taluk-level committees appointed for the purpose of ascertaining the exact cause of cattle death had run into a problem where they were under pressure from some farmers to attribute the deaths of their cattle to FMD.

For instance, initial reports stated that Mysore taluk had recorded as many as 170 deaths of head of cattle, but after the committee made thorough investigation the number came down to 56, Dr. Devadas said.

Similarly, initial toll from T. Narsipur was 720, but after the verifications it came down to 323. In most cases, claimants were not able to provide proof for the deaths of animals.

As per the 2011 animal census, there are 5.6 lakh head of cattle in the district. As many as 4.81 lakh were covered in the first round of vaccination in the district in January-February this year, and in the current drive (August-September) about 95 per cent had been covered so far, Dr. Devadas said. The next round will be in February next.

Among other reasons, some had died because of wrong ‘drenching’, meaning incorrect administration of gruel to the affected cattle.

Most of them were unaware of the right way of feeding animals, resulting in aspiratory pneumonia. Hemorrhagic septicaemia (HS), a bacterial infection, too had accounted for certain deaths, the laboratory report had confirmed.