RANCHI, Sept 10: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Tuesday launched 236 mobile veterinary units (MVUs) to provide better animal healthcare services at the doorsteps of livestock farmers.
The MVUs, which are modern ambulances, will be equipped with primary medical services, test facilities and will have veterinarians and para-medics, an official said.
The CM also issued toll-free number 1962 of an integrated call centre set up in Ranchi to provide healthcare tips and ambulance services.
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“The government is working for the uplift of the farmers of the state. While laying special focus on agriculture and allied sectors, the government has taken important decisions and made policies in the last four-and-a-half years,” Soren said, while addressing a divisional-level cooperative conference here.
He said the government has waived loans of up to Rs 2 lakh for the farmers.
“This is for the first time that a policy has been made to ensure insurance coverage even for animals in the state,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, state Agriculture Department Secretary Abu Bakr Siddique said the ambulance service would be available for free in 236 blocks across 24 districts in the state.
To avail the ambulance service, the cattle farmers will have to place requirements at the call centre following which the details about the animal will be taken from the farmer.
“If it is treatable on call, experts will guide the farmers. If the case is found to be serious, the ambulance equipped with a veterinarian and other help would visit the farmers’ place and provide treatment,” state Animal Husbandry Director Kiran Kumari Pasi said.
In case of critical condition, the animal can be referred to a veterinary hospital through the same mobile ambulance.
The specially customised vehicles will have a hydraulic facility to load the sick animals into the MVUs so that they can be taken to the nearest veterinary hospital or clinic in case of emergency, another official said. (PTI)
