NAUSAR/OSIAN: Rotting in the open, stench trail for kilometres and village lands turning into graveyards for cattle is a common experience nowadays for anyone passing through villages near Nausar and Osian areas of Jodhpur with piles of dead cows dumped in the open fields.
In some places, the carcasses are covered with mud, without any lime or common salt as directed by the state government. Some parts of the body are rotting, exposed to flies and other carrier insects for the disease.
Almost every house has lost 50% of the cattle, said locals. According to the official figures, 2,775 cattle deaths have been reported from Jodhpur district as of Monday. Locals say just in two blocks of the district, around 5,000 cows have died. At least 200 dead cows can easily be seen on the sides of the highway in an approximately 100km-stretch from the outskirts of Jodhpur city till Nausar village in the district.
“In just villages in and around Nausar, at least 1,000 cows have died in the past month. One can easily see dead cows on the sides of roads. In the village fields, there are more dead cows dumped in piles. Daily 30-50 dead cows are dumped for disposal in this region…our fields, which once used to be grazing grounds for cows, have now turned into graveyards for the same animal,” said Jagdish Bishnoi, who manages a cow shelter privately in Lakheta village, 9km away from Nausar.
Teary-eyed, like mourning the loss of a child, a woman in Nausar said, “We have already lost three cows, one more is suffering since past 20 days…she may also not survive. They are all gone…”
Even with daily reporting of cases in places like Osian, Nausar and Matoda, which are some of the most affected areas in the district, there are no veterinary facilities or medicine supply. The veterinary hospital in Nausar had locks on all three of its doors.
Deva Ram, sarpanch of Bhakro ki Dhani village in Osian block of the district, said daily 20-25 cows are dying in one village. “And these are the ones that are visible to us,” he added.
“There are no doctors available for treatment, even for guidance there is no medical expert, medicines are also not available in the markets…how is one supposed to save the animal? Through my contacts, I arranged for doctors from Jodhpur and took them on rounds near the village in tractors because in most places, cars cannot go, and infected cattle goes unnoticed. We come to know that an animal has died when a particular area starts stinking. In such a situation, the official figures are under reporting the extent of the spread of the virus,” said Ram.
Representatives from Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, working in the district, said in a survey conducted by them with cattle rearers in Dechu and Bilara blocks of Jodhpur who sell milk as a business, they found that 2,500 cattle have already died.
“If the death figure is 2,500 in just two blocks and this is till the second week of August, then definitely the death toll across Jodhpur district must be close to 5,000 or even more. The situation is such that only those who can afford are getting their cattle treated, others do not even have the resources…. cows are dying in every home,” said Tulchha Ram Sinwer, state secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh.
Those working with cow shelters in Pali district also shared similar views and said the official figures are under reporting the deaths.
Devisingh Rajpurohit, a resident of Pali who helps in the management of Pinjrapole Gaushala in the district and is also associated with Pathmeda Gaushala, which is Rajasthan‘s biggest cow shelter, said that there would be at least a 25%-30% difference in the official death figures and ground situation.
“There is no way to know if a cow is dying from lumpy skin disease or some other infection because treatment is symptomatic. What we have understood so far is some cows develop lumps and they definitely have the disease, but others have swollen feet and they do not sit down for days which is unlikely for a cow. And if they sit down, then that animal is most likely to not survive because it is in too much pain. This is what we have seen since past one month. Many such animals have died in villages of Pali, but how many can we help,” said Rajpurohit.
Resampling must be done to check for other viruses
Agriculture experts working with cow shelters in the district demanded that resampling must be done of cattle to check if animals have developed antibodies after recovering or if they are suffering from some other disease, as most of the treatment being given is symptomatic.
Uday Singh Bhati, a retired supervisor from the dairy department who now works with a cow shelter in Lakheta village, Jodhpur said, “We are anyway giving symptomatic treatment to the infected animals, so the authorities must at least test samples again. Some of the cattle are developing lumps and it is visible, but many have symptoms like other highly contagious viral diseases like foot and mouth disease. Samples were tested just once when the outbreak was first reported.”
NGOs vaccinating cows to curb spread of viral disease
Meanwhile, NGOs in some parts of the state are vaccinating cattle with goat pox vaccine to curb the spread of the disease. In the past two days, over 400 cattle have been vaccinated in cow shelters near the capital city by Apeksha Foundation.
In some places, the carcasses are covered with mud, without any lime or common salt as directed by the state government. Some parts of the body are rotting, exposed to flies and other carrier insects for the disease.
Almost every house has lost 50% of the cattle, said locals. According to the official figures, 2,775 cattle deaths have been reported from Jodhpur district as of Monday. Locals say just in two blocks of the district, around 5,000 cows have died. At least 200 dead cows can easily be seen on the sides of the highway in an approximately 100km-stretch from the outskirts of Jodhpur city till Nausar village in the district.
“In just villages in and around Nausar, at least 1,000 cows have died in the past month. One can easily see dead cows on the sides of roads. In the village fields, there are more dead cows dumped in piles. Daily 30-50 dead cows are dumped for disposal in this region…our fields, which once used to be grazing grounds for cows, have now turned into graveyards for the same animal,” said Jagdish Bishnoi, who manages a cow shelter privately in Lakheta village, 9km away from Nausar.
Teary-eyed, like mourning the loss of a child, a woman in Nausar said, “We have already lost three cows, one more is suffering since past 20 days…she may also not survive. They are all gone…”
Even with daily reporting of cases in places like Osian, Nausar and Matoda, which are some of the most affected areas in the district, there are no veterinary facilities or medicine supply. The veterinary hospital in Nausar had locks on all three of its doors.
Deva Ram, sarpanch of Bhakro ki Dhani village in Osian block of the district, said daily 20-25 cows are dying in one village. “And these are the ones that are visible to us,” he added.
“There are no doctors available for treatment, even for guidance there is no medical expert, medicines are also not available in the markets…how is one supposed to save the animal? Through my contacts, I arranged for doctors from Jodhpur and took them on rounds near the village in tractors because in most places, cars cannot go, and infected cattle goes unnoticed. We come to know that an animal has died when a particular area starts stinking. In such a situation, the official figures are under reporting the extent of the spread of the virus,” said Ram.
Representatives from Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, working in the district, said in a survey conducted by them with cattle rearers in Dechu and Bilara blocks of Jodhpur who sell milk as a business, they found that 2,500 cattle have already died.
“If the death figure is 2,500 in just two blocks and this is till the second week of August, then definitely the death toll across Jodhpur district must be close to 5,000 or even more. The situation is such that only those who can afford are getting their cattle treated, others do not even have the resources…. cows are dying in every home,” said Tulchha Ram Sinwer, state secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh.
Those working with cow shelters in Pali district also shared similar views and said the official figures are under reporting the deaths.
Devisingh Rajpurohit, a resident of Pali who helps in the management of Pinjrapole Gaushala in the district and is also associated with Pathmeda Gaushala, which is Rajasthan‘s biggest cow shelter, said that there would be at least a 25%-30% difference in the official death figures and ground situation.
“There is no way to know if a cow is dying from lumpy skin disease or some other infection because treatment is symptomatic. What we have understood so far is some cows develop lumps and they definitely have the disease, but others have swollen feet and they do not sit down for days which is unlikely for a cow. And if they sit down, then that animal is most likely to not survive because it is in too much pain. This is what we have seen since past one month. Many such animals have died in villages of Pali, but how many can we help,” said Rajpurohit.
Resampling must be done to check for other viruses
Agriculture experts working with cow shelters in the district demanded that resampling must be done of cattle to check if animals have developed antibodies after recovering or if they are suffering from some other disease, as most of the treatment being given is symptomatic.
Uday Singh Bhati, a retired supervisor from the dairy department who now works with a cow shelter in Lakheta village, Jodhpur said, “We are anyway giving symptomatic treatment to the infected animals, so the authorities must at least test samples again. Some of the cattle are developing lumps and it is visible, but many have symptoms like other highly contagious viral diseases like foot and mouth disease. Samples were tested just once when the outbreak was first reported.”
NGOs vaccinating cows to curb spread of viral disease
Meanwhile, NGOs in some parts of the state are vaccinating cattle with goat pox vaccine to curb the spread of the disease. In the past two days, over 400 cattle have been vaccinated in cow shelters near the capital city by Apeksha Foundation.