Staff Reporters
DIMAPUR, APRIL 20
In many villages of Peren district area the agriculture and dairy farmers are plunged into a deep calamity. Grief stricken and drained with burying their only source of income for many families, the farmers are in panic with the recent casualty of buffaloes to disease still unfamiliar to them and their filed have turned into a burial ground.
While the reports of casualty among buffaloes have been increasing daily in the last two to three weeks due to a disease unknown to the villages, the Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department is yet to get the cause of the disease. The department according to a farmer had collected samples for diagnosing the disease; however till date they have not responded nor any team have been assigned to assist the farmers in tackling the epidemic. Adding to the farmer’s woe, the disease has already spread to cows and goats.
They have no idea to what is happening around them but fearfully remain observant that no good news is on their day with frequent casualty. The only symptoms of the disease they are aware of is that the buffaloes, once contracted with the disease has swollen neck, discharge of fluid from nose and makes “unusual sound” says a farmer interacting with Eastern Mirror at Punglwa on Wednesday. The animal after showing the symptoms does not survive even for a day.
The panic stricken farmers have already lost count of the animals they have buried so far and they only wish that they stop the epidemic from spreading to other neighboring villages.
Pained to see their livestock dying almost every day, the farmers of Punglwa village expressed their grief as most of the farmers of the village are said to be dependent on their livestock like buffaloes and cows for their farming.This livestock epidemic is said to have reached some neighboring villages under Peren district since the first week of April.
The affected villages are Heningkulwa, Ngwaulwa, Gaili and Punglwa. This information was provided by the one of the farmers from Punglwa who has also lost three buffaloes in the past few days. The reporter from Eastern Mirror on interacting with few of the villagers in Punglwa village learnt that dozens have been killed in the village in the past few days.
The farmers also lamented that despite their cattle dying everyday, no major helping hand have been rendered towards the aggrieved farmers by the concerned department.
Some of the other farmers also cried out saying that the department has visited some villages and took samples of the deceased animals to diagnose the cause of the death and provided de-worming medicines and mineral mixtures but failed to cure their cattle from dying.
One concerned progressive farmer from Dimapur who heard about the dying of cattle in the villages voluntarily decided to help the farmers with the help of his years long of experience as a farmer. This farmer; Arukhate, who has been rearing cattle since 1998 on seeing the need to help the affected farmers reached Punglwa on April 19 with vaccines and medicines. Since the treatment started 3 livestock have been saved.
The concerned farmer who was there treating the buffaloes and cows today advised the villagers not to panic saying that it is a curable disease that can be treated. He said this through his years of long experience with his cattle. He also visited Gaili village today.
The fields of the village are seen empty with no buffaloes and cows to graze and wallow in the area.
On query the district department refused to comment on the ongoing crises while another official could not be reached.
More reports of deaths
In another press note received on Wednesday from Dungki Village, states the epidemic broke out at Lamhai-Dungki village have caused havoc and turmoil amongst the farmers of Peren district. Hundreds of buffaloes were reported to be already dead in the neighboring villages and the chain have strike the Lamhai-Dungki area where hundreds of buffaloes already registered dead within a span of short period. The press note stated that the panicked farmers and the buffalo owners reported the matter to the village council which have been brought to the notice of SDO (Civil) and accordingly the veterinary department had provided vaccination but no sign of improvement were observed and the spread of the mysterious disease is still prevailing in the area. Buffaloes are used for ploughing of terrace field where tractors and power tillers are practically not accessible and considered as the biggest assets to the farmers of the area.
Season for cultivation of paddy are closely arriving and they are helpless inm mitigating the epidemic. The village has appealed upon the state government to take up necessary remedies and support for the survival of the poor villagers.
Vety. & AH informs
While on the other hand the Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department though reaching late to the panic stricken farmers, on Wednesday in a press note informed all livestock farmers that suspected cases of Heamorrhagic Septiceamia (HS) had been detected in Peren and Kohima districts. This disease they stated is caused by Pasteurella multocida bacteria which are highly contagious in nature causing high morbidity and mortality in case of Buffaloes and Cattle resulting in 80% mortality in untreated cases causing huge economic losses.
Therefore the department have requested farmers to be vigilant on livestock exhibiting high fever, salivation, off-feed, swollen neck etc., restrict livestock movement and get their animals vaccinated from the nearest Veterinary Health Centres (VHC) and Suspected cases must to be reported to the Department immediately.
