STATEWIDE MASS IMMUNISATION DRIVE AGAINST FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE FROM MONDAY; 816 TEAMS FORMED FOR SMOOTH EXECUTION OF DRIVE

* Over 65 Lakh doses of FMD vaccine procured,says Gurmeet Singh Khudian

Chandigarh, October 20:

          The Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, will commence a mass inoculation drive for livestock as a preventive measure against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) starting from October 21. A total of 816 teams have been formed to ensure the smooth and efficient execution of the vaccination drive.

          In a press communiqué today, Punjab Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian disclosed that a total of 65,47,800 doses of the FMD vaccine have been produced for the mass immunisation drive.

          S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian directed the department authorities to complete the vaccination drive by the end of November. He emphasised that the vaccine will be administered free of cost to the entire livestock population of the state. He also asked officials to maintain the cold chain effectively and educate livestock farmers about the benefits of the immunisation drive.

          Meanwhile, Principal Secretary Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries, Mr. Rahul Bhandari, informed that the Animal Husbandry department has distributed the vaccine to all districts. Additionally, the Joint Director of NRDDL, Jalandhar, has been appointed as the nodal officer to ensure the efficient execution of the immunisation drive across the state.

          He further mentioned that the Punjab Animal Husbandry department has set up a control room at the state level, along with district-level control rooms at the offices of the Deputy Directors of the Animal Husbandry department. The department has also issued a helpline number 0172-5086064 to assist livestock farmers, Mr. Bhandari added.

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