GUWAHATI, April 30 - The State government will engage the postgraduate level students of the College of Veterinary Science in its bid to contain the unknown disease which led to the death of more than 2,000 pigs in six districts of Assam.
An official source said that the student engagement process will start after receiving the final report from the Bhopal-based National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, to which the State veterinary department has sent samples of infected pigs to ascertain the disease.
After the report comes, the department will act on the issue by following Central government guidelines, the source said. The disease originated in Dhemaji district and spread to Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Lakhimpur and Biswanath. At present, the highest number of pigs died in Dhemaji district, followed by Sivasagar district.
Reviewing the situation on Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Atul Bora instructed all senior officials concerned to accord priority to the issue. He directed all officials to create mass awareness to check the apprehension among common public and to send teams of doctors to every district if required.
Bora also informed that the government would take steps to compensate the entrepreneurs who are facing losses due to the disease. He strictly asked every official not to neglect duty during such hard times.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Minister today visited the areas affected by the disease. He also visited Majuli and Golaghat, which fall near the affected districts.
