Harsimrat K Badal demands compensation @ Rs 50,000 per animal for cattle deaths in Bathinda

Bathinda - Former union minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today demanded farmers who had lost more than 200 cattle in Raika Kalan village be given compensation at the rate of Rs 50,000 per milch animal even as she called for taking adequate measures to stop the cattle disease from spreading to other villages.

In a statement here, the Bathinda MP said it was shocking that chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who had earlier even promised compensation to farmers for loss of their goats and chickens, had not announced any compensation for the villagers of Raika Kalan who had lost nearly their entire cattle wealth to a fast spreading disease in the last five to six days. She also condemned the Animal Husbandry ministry for sleeping over the matter for days which had worsened the situation. “The late reaction from the Animal Husbandry ministry increased fatalities and has also resulted in the spread of infection to Sooch village which has also reported some cattle deaths”.

Asking the chief minister to explain why the affected dairy farmers as well as subsistence level agriculturists who had kept cattle to augment their earnings were being denied compensation, Mrs Harsimrat Badal said “they too are being discriminated against in the same manner as lakhs of farmers who are still awaiting compensation for crop damages due to floods, pink bollworm and hail”.

Asserting that the chief minister only had empty words for farmers, Mrs Badal said “due compensation is being denied to the annadaata even as more than Rs 1,000 crore has been spent on advertisements and publicity stunts”.

Mrs Badal also demanded that the Animal Husbandry department provide necessary medicines to affected farmers as well as dairy owners in neighbouring villages. She said there was a sense of fear among cattle owners due to the failure of the Animal Husbandry department in taking steps to halt the spread of the disease in other villages. “Adequate medicines are not available in veterinary clinics which has compounded the problem”, she added.