Priya Prakasan agrees she has taken a risk with her air-conditioned mobile veterinary clinic, called Sredha Mobile Artificial Insemination and Veterinary Service, but she is confident that the gamble will pay off. “There are many who need it for their domestic/farm animals. Often access is a problem, but if there is a service that will reach their doorstep then why not?” says the veterinary nurse.
Over the past 13 years as a nurse, she has seen animals suffer with their owners being unable to take the animals to a veterinary clinic. “Veterinary clinics are not everywhere. Often getting to one might involve travelling a long distance and it may not be feasible or possible,” says the 32 year-old. She came across such cases while on her rounds to artificially inseminate cows and goats. Distraught animal owners shared their concerns with her which cemented her resolve.
Priya, who completed her course at Kerala Agriculture University, Mannuthy near Thrissur, worked as a nurse at the Cochin Pet Hospital, at Kochi. Her experience there, under veterinarian Dr Giggin T, one of the founders of the hospital, inspired her to do something similar. “I consider him my mentor, and he encouraged me to see my dream through,” she over phone from Alangad, near Kochi. She realised the dream finally when on May 21, Kerala Agriculture Minister VS Sunilkumar flagged off the clinic.
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The clinic is a bus outfitted, at a cost of Rs. 1 crore, with hospital/surgical equipment. “Only a vehicle of this size would have space for what we have in mind. The laboratory, scanning and X-ray facilities remain, the delay was due to the lockdown, we hope to be ready with those also soon. Incidentally, the lockdown has demonstrated the need for a mobile veterinary clinic,” she says. It will also provide grooming services for pets.
Priya’s project was incubated at Kerala Agriculture University’s (KAU) Agri-Business Centre’s Raftaar Agri-Business Incubator. KAU’s Agri-Clinic & Agri-Business Centre (AC&ABC), the District Kudumbashree Mission and Hyderabad-based National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (also known as MANAGE) facilitated the subsidised loan from Nabard and Bank of India. The clinic is registered with the local Kudumbashree unit.
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Priya has hired two veterinary doctors and seven staff members, as she works out the logistics of the clinic’s functioning. She is planning to conduct veterinary medical camps so that she can create awareness about the mobile clinic. Another is to work in cohesion with local bodies such as panchayats and municipalities, who will avail of the service depending on the requirement in the areas under their jurisdiction. Priya has been associated with the Ernakulam district’s Animal Birth Control (ABC) Project, which the mobile clinic will continue to do. Income generated by projects such as ABC will fund the salaries of the staff.
“We have already been getting calls requesting our service. We will assess the requirement and respond,” she says. Alongside are the enquiries about the rates, “Especially for grooming/bathing pets, the rates can be fixed only after taking into consideration the service, the distance, and time spent on it,” she adds. Although the service, for now, is limited to Ernakulam (Kochi) district she hopes to extend the service to neighbouring districts as well.
“This is a long time dream, and it is a thrill to finally have it up and running,” Priya says as she signs off.