Chennai: Animal husbandry minister Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan has ruled out the outbreak of the dreaded emerging zoonosis - Nipah virus, in Tamil Nadu and indicated that the State is 'safe.'
"There is no Nipah virus in Tamil Nadu and this has been confirmed through the animal husbandry department," the minister told the Assembly on Friday. Winding up the debate on the demand for grants for his department, Mr Radhakrishnan said during the current fiscal it has been targeted to provide milch cows to 12,000 beneficiaries besides goats to about 1.5 lakh persons under the government's populist free scheme.
"In an effort to prevent economic loss to the beneficiaries of our flagship scheme of providing free milch cows and goats to the poor, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, with the blessings of late CM J. Jayalalithaa has ordered insurance cover for Rs 6.29 crore for the cows and goats," Mr Radhakrishnan said. Also, skills would be imparted to about 500 rural youth/ livestock farmers.
"Animal husbandry and dairying constitutes an important economic activity in Tamil Nadu. Rural employment and incomes can be boosted by the growth of this sector. By modernising and extending veterinary services and other facilities, the growth and sustainability of this sector can be assured," the minister said in the policy note.
