KARAIKAL: For a district with six government veterinary dispensaries and 17 veterinary key-village centres that together require at least 70 medical staff – including permanent doctors, assistant veterinarians, and veterinary attendants – only 16 posts have been filled for years.
The shortage of personnel has cut off treatment for animals, putting livestock at risk of death. Highlighting the crisis, farmers and dairy producers in Karaikal staged a protest rally with cattle on Tuesday, before the officer of the joint director of the animal husbandry department.
The demonstration, organised by the All India farmers’ association (Karaikal unit) and the milk producers’ association, condemned what they termed the “negligence” of the Puducherry animal husbandry department in failing to fill vacancies in veterinary hospitals and sub-centres.
“Whenever we take our farm animals to the nearby veterinary hospital, the staff redirect us to another where doctors are present. We’ve lost so many cattle because of the lack of proper facilities. Private veterinary clinics are available but too costly, making it hard for us to survive in business,” said Thameem Ansari, treasurer of the All India farmers’ association, Karaikal.
According to department figures, only one permanent doctor and four contract doctors are serving against eight sanctioned posts, three assistant veterinarians against 24 posts, and eight veterinary attendants against 38 veterinary attendants posts. A senior official said that the situation has remained dire for nearly eight years.
“Vacancies keep going up and down but never reach adequate strength,” the official said. Another official said that contract doctors have not been paid for nearly a year. Department Joint Director Dr Gopinath assured to forward the protesters’ demands to the higher-ups.