Parshottam Rupala flags off 29 mobile veterinary units in Kerala

Parshottam Rupala flags off 29 mobile veterinary units in Kerala
Veterinary Hospitals & Dispensaries - Mobile Veterinary Units, a component under Livestock Health and Disease Control scheme provides financial assistance for the delivery of veterinary healthcare services at farmers’ doorsteps

Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying inaugurated 29 mobile veterinary units (MVU) and its centralised call centre in Thiruvananthpuram in Kerala today in a step for the benefit of the livestock farmers in Kerala.

These mobile veterinary units will be operated through a centralised call centre with a uniform helpline number 1962. It will receive calls from livestock rearers and animal owners. Veterinarians will prioritise all cases on the basis of emergency nature and will transmit them to the nearest MVU for attending at farmers’ doorstep.

Kerala is deploying 50 MVUs in different districts. Now, the veterinary hospital will be just a call away by dialling 1962. These vehicles are equipped with state of art diagnostic tools, animal treatment and breeding accessories, audio-visual aids and necessary medications.

You may also like to read: ICAR-NIHSAD transfers technology of H9N2 vaccine for chickens for commercial production

The minister highlighted that this intervention would boost the confidence of dairy breeders to rear highly productive dairy animals as most of the breeders are reluctant to take their livestock to a veterinary hospital for treatment and usually end up calling quacks for doorstep delivery of services. Each MVU shall be manned by qualified veterinarians and a paravet for providing specialised services to livestock farmers, he added.

Elaborating on the scheme, Rupala underlined that the scheme is promising and will transform the dairy sector from a subsistence-based farm livelihood to a commercially viable enterprise by giving gainful employment to the youth of Kerala.

Mobile veterinary units will provide diagnosis treatment, vaccination, artificial insemination, minor surgical interventions, audio-visual aids and extension services to farmers and animal owners at their doorstep in far-flung areas.

In the current financial year, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), MoFAHD, Govt of India has sanctioned 4,332 MVUs across the country. MVUs will act as a one-stop centre for solutions to veterinary issues and dissemination of information to the remotest areas in the country.

You may also like to read: 5 government schemes facilitating subsidy and interest subvention to enhance milk productivity

The event was attended by Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V Muraleedharan; Kerala Minister of Animal Husbandry, J Chinchu Rani; Binoy Viswam, MP; District Panchayat President, Suresh Kumar D; and Director of Kerala Animal Husbandry Department, Dr A Kawshigan and other officials.

Background

Establishment and strengthening of Veterinary Hospitals & Dispensaries – Mobile Veterinary Units (ESVHD-MVU)” a component under the Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH&DC) scheme provides financial assistance to the states and union territories for delivery of veterinary healthcare services at farmers’ doorsteps by providing one MVU per one lakh livestock population.

According to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, the scheme provides financial assistance of 100 towards non-recurring expenditure (@ Rs.16 lakh per MVU) on procurement and customisation of mobile veterinary units (MVUs) and central share (100 per cent for UTs, 90 per cent for NE and hilly states and 60 per cent for all other states) towards recurring expenditure (@ Rs.18.72 lakh per MVU) on running of these MVUs in the field for delivery of veterinary services at farmers’ doorstep. The salary of veterinarians has been revised to Rs 56,100 per month. During 2021-22, Central government released Rs.681.57 crores to 33 states and UTs towards procurement of 4,332 MVUs.

Click here to read Animal Husbandry stories.
Engage with us on Telegram, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook.
Share on

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

÷ 3 = 2