CHANDIGARH MAY 16: – In a bid to effectively tackle the menace of stray dogs and animals in the state, the Punjab Government would soon sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to train its Veterinary doctors and paramedics.
A decision to this effect was taken here today by Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal in a meeting with the Chairman AWBI Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Dr. RM Kharb and the senior officers of state government this afternoon.
Dr. Kharb informed that AWBI was a statutory and advisory body to the Government of India (GoI) working under the aegis of Ministry of Environment and Forests. It was decided in the meeting that from mid June the AWBI would impart training to the veterinary teams comprising two doctors and five paramedics from Punjab in different batches, for catching and managing the stray dogs. Each team would be deputed in every city after the completion of its formal training to undertake these operations.
Taking part in the deliberations, Mr. Badal emphasized the need for joint efforts of the Local Government and Animal Husbandry Department to effectively check the ever increasing cases of dog bites, which had posed a grave threat to human lives, besides resulting in several road accidents. He also asked the officers to prepare an action plan in tandem with the organizers of Gau-Shalas at district levels for the proper management and care of abandoned cows in urban and rural areas.
Earlier, in a meeting with a farmers’ delegation of Bhartiya Kissan Union (Rajewal Group), Mr. Badal said that he was well aware of the major challenge posed to the very life of the human beings and enormous damage caused to the standing crops by the wild animals and stray dogs. He assured that the state government was seriously contemplating to soon chalk out a detailed action plan to get rid of the nuisance caused by the canines and wild animals.
Prominent amongst those who attended the meeting included Chief Parliamentary Secretary Animal Husbandry Mr. Des Raj Dhugga, Financial Commissioner Animal Husbandry Mr. Jagpal Singh Sandhu, Principal Secretary Local Government Mr. Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. S.K. Sandhu, Principal Secretary Health Mrs. Vini Mahajan, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. Gurkirat Kirpal Singh besides Commissioners of the Municipal Corporation Amritsar, Patiala, Ludhiana, Bathinda and the Chairman Gau Sewa Board (GSB) Punjab Mr. Kimati Bhagat, Vice Chairman GSB Devi Dayal Prashar and Member (Co-opted) Animal Welfare Board of India Dr. Sandeep Kumar Jain
