Punjab Punjab Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian, on Wednesday, directed the department officials to complete the ongoing 21st livestock census by the end of February 2025.
While emphasising on the importance of impeccable data collection regarding the number of animals categorised by their breeds and other characteristics, he said that this extensive field survey will serve as a critical touchstone, highlighting the current status of the livestock sector and setting the stage for future planning, besides, helping in informed decision-making and fostering sustainable practices across the sector.
Gurmeet Singh Khudian, along with the Chairman of Punjab State Farmers’ & Farm Workers’ Commission Dr. Sukhpal Singh, held a meeting with the Animal Husbandry officials to review the ongoing projects at Livestock Complex, Sector-68, SAS Nagar (Mohali).
He also ordered the officials to initiate the mass immunisation drive against Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) from next week in the state. He informed that the state government has procured adequate number of Goat Pox vaccine doses to inoculate all the 25 lakh cattle to prevent this fatal disease.
Gurmeet Singh Khudian also took stock of the status of the upcoming project of indoor services to be launched at six Veterinary Polyclinics in Patiala, Amritsar, Sri Mukatsar Sahib,Sangrur, Gurdaspur and Ludhiana. These Polyclinics will offer a range of indoor services for pets and animals including acute illness management, surgeries, post-operative care, lab tests, X-rays and ultrasound facilities.
He asked the deputy directors to get success stories of the farmers from each district who have been benefitted from the services of the Animal Husbandry department so that the other farmers also get encouraged from it. Principal Secretary Animal Husbandry Mr. Rahul Bhandari apprised the cabinet minister that the role of women in the animal husbandry sector is being taken into account for the first time in the state and a total of 16 different species of animals and poultry are being counted.
The data is being collected digitally through a mobile application. The enumerators have already covered over 35.36 lakh households, with a target of covering over 64.78 lakh projected households. He mentioned that during the last census, a total of 45,51,483 households were covered.
Director Animal Husbandry Dr. GS Bedi assured the cabinet minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian that the ongoing field survey will be completed in the prescribed timeline.He told that department is doing the best for the animals in terms of treatment as well as preventive measures with vaccination against different diseases.The high-level meeting was attended by all the district heads of the Animal Husbandry department and other senior officials of the department.