๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐: The Honโble Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock, accompanied by a team from the Department of Livestock, visited Sturgeon Farm in Harachu while en route to Sarpang. During the visit, the Secretary inspected the ongoing water irrigation works, which are currently being undertaken by Desuung and the technical staff of NRDCRLF, Haa. The team had the opportunity to observe the progress of the construction of the water source and commended the achievements made thus far.
Later in the afternoon, the Secretary and the team convened a meeting at Dekiling Gewog Centre (Sarpang) with the technical staff involved in the Rabies outbreak control in Sarpang Dzongkhag. In late June, the Sarpang Dzongkhag experienced an outbreak of Rabies, which initially occurred in Tareythang Gewog. The current campaign, led by Dr. Lungten, Regional Veterinary Officer, the Regional Veterinary Hospital & Epidemiology Centre (RVH&EC), Gelephu, in collaboration with officials from the Ministry of Health, Desuung, Dzongkhag Livestock Sector and Local Government, has made tremendous efforts to contain the disease, encompassing various tasks, including sample collection, mass dog and cat vaccination, and conducting extensive public awareness campaigns across all the Gewogs in Sarpang.
The Rabies outbreak is not only the disease outbreak handled by the RVH&EC, Gelephu in the recent times. Over the past six months, the Dzongkhag has faced challenges and encountered outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Pigs and Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in Cattle, which were previously unrecorded and significantly higher compared to other Dzongkhags. During the meeting with the technical members involved in the campaign, the Secretary engaged in discussions regarding the various issues and challenges encountered in containing the disease. Furthermore, the Secretary expressed gratitude and extended appreciation for spearheading this important task, and gratitude for the hard work and perseverance demonstrated by the entire team involved in the campaign.
The Secretary is currently on a two-day visit to Sarpang, which includes visiting Umling Dungkhag, interacting with livestock and health officials involved in Rabies outbreak, and visiting livestock farms in Tareythang Gewog. Additionally, the Secretary will visit the National Piggery Development Centre (NPiDC), National Development Centre for Aquaculture (NDCA), Agriculture Research and Development Centre (ARDC) and BRECSA PMU in Bhur, and briefly stop at the National Poultry Development Centre on the way back to Thimphu.
