Sukhbir Badal demands Punjab govt gives Rs 50,000 for each cattle that died of lumpy skin disease

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday demanded immediate release of compensation of Rs 50,000 for each cattle that died due to lumpy skin disease.

In a statement here, the SAD president expressed shock that even as "thousands of cattle" had fallen prey to lumpy skin disease since July, the AAP government was still "indulging in propaganda and advertisements".

"No effort is being made to take concrete steps at the ground level by coming to the aid of dairy farmers by compensating them for their cattle loss as well as preventing the further spread of the disease," Badal said.

Lumpy skin disease infects cows and buffaloes mainly through vectors like blood-feeding insects. It leads to the formation of nodes on the animal's skin or hide that look like lumps, fever, runny nose, reduced milk yield and difficulty in eating.

Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been hit by the outbreak of the disease.

Badal said, "Farmers have lost between Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh per milch animal to this killer disease which has crippled the dairy sector and is set to result in a setback to the state's push for diversification of farmer income. Despite this, the government has not released any compensation to dairy farmers." Badal also alleged the government was not releasing money to the animal husbandry department to tackle the spread of the disease.

"A report has come in from Muktsar stating that in the absence of any funds being received from the animal husbandry department, the district administration has asked village panchayats to provide money for purchasing medicines to tackle lumpy skin disease," he stated.