DIBRUGARH, Aug 3 - In the wake of unprecedented deaths of goats in Dibrugarh West revenue circle following floods, the district Veterinary Department collected blood samples and carcasses of the affected and dead herbivorous animals from the area to send it for examination to the Regional Disease Diagnosis Laboratory, Guwahati.
The death of goats in the flood-prone area has been reported for the first time post-floods. Seventeen carcasses have been found in the area while several are said to be suffering from various diseases. The Veterinary Department after inspecting the area and examining the deceased goats suspected contamination in the food. The District Veterinary Officer, Dr Budhindra Kumar Bora said that several goats had died and a large numbers of goats were infected. He said that personnel from his department were collecting reports from all flood-ravaged areas.
The Veterinary department collected four blood samples and one carcass for examination while conducting veterinary camps in the area yesterday. The personnel from the Veterinary Department also treated as many as 195 affected goats and examined 58 pigs, over 200 cows and bulls and about 190 birds in three different camps at Sessa Nagaon, Singibeel and Lezai tiniali. A team of 12 veterinary personnel were engaged in treating and examining the animals.
Utapal Dehingia of 2 Gorudharia Sessa Nagaon who lost six goats said that the abdomen of goats gets swollen and they die. �The deaths or disease of certain cattle and birds is natural during the calamities such as floods as we have known since several decades, but goats are dying for the first time during floods this time,� he said.
The villagers in the area suspect that the waste released from the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) was polluting the surface water through the Sessa river. The villagers in the area have also stopped eating fish from the area. Dr RB Pradhan, Senior Veterinary Officer said that sample examination would establish the truth.
The deluge in the district that inundated human habitations and submerged several tracts of agricultural land in all the seven revenue circles of the district has largely taken its toll on the health of the livestock and birds of the farmers. The Veterinary Department is holding two to three veterinary camps a day at several places in the area following direction from the district administration. However, several areas have remained unattended due to inadequate manpower and improper road connectivity. A veterinary camp was also organised in Kenduguri in Tingkhong where over 500 livestock and birds were examined.
Loss of more than 60 livestock like cows, bulls, piglets and goats has been so far reported from different parts of the district during the floods. The highest number of deaths of cows has been reported from Dhadia in Chabua revenue circle. Birds, mostly ducks died in Dibrugarh West revenue circle.
