Union minister dedicates mobile veterinary units to rural farmers

SHILLONG, Jan 10: Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala on Tuesday launched mobile veterinary units (MVUs) on the final day of his South West Garo Hills visit and said that the same will help the rural farmers in easing the treatment of animals.
The union minister launched the MVUs during a programme organised by the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary department in Mahendraganj, South West Garo Hills.
Addressing the gathering, he said, “We have dedicated 17 MVUs to Meghalaya. Ninety per cent of their expenditure will be borne by the Government of India. In the entire state, the veterinary facilities will be available at the doorstep of the people. One has to just dial 1962 and an MVU will reach your doorstep.”
It is pertinent to note that each mobile veterinary unit comes with all necessary equipment required for treatment of animals along with a doctor, a paramedical staff and a driver.
“With the help of these MVUs, the officials of the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary department will be able to conduct vaccination, artificial insemination and all kinds of treatment for sick animals,” the union minister informed.
During the programme, Rupala also lauded the efforts of the state officials for managing the developmental works at the grassroots level and patted the Fisheries department for increasing fish production in the district.
Observing that the area has potential in poultry and dairy, he expressed hope that Meghalaya will be able to export fish and meet the deficit.
“I visited and inspected the dairy farm near Tura. It is an old one. Time has changed and it needs to be upgraded. The cooperative model should be adopted to help dairy farmers and they, in turn, should cooperate with the local administration and avail the benefits from the schemes of the central government,” he said.
Rupala also said that border villages are being prioritised under the leadership of the prime minister.
“Ministers have been instructed to visit the border areas and interact with the border communities,” he said, adding that visiting border villages and assessing their needs and difficulties is one of the priorities of the central government.
On the final day of his visit, the union minister also toured various field projects in the district. He also visited the Indo-Bangladesh border haat at Kalaichar and inspected the border fencing along the 38-km border with Bangladesh.
The union minister also held interactions with the Border Security Force (BSF) officials and jawans, officials of Border Areas Development department and the members of the Border Haat Committee, who raised the issues of lack of basic amenities and infrastructure for traders.
Rupala was also impressed by the maintenance of Aqua Park at Jolgaon by fish farmers and Taljawa lake at Kumligaon, which have been created with the assistance of central and state schemes through community effort.