Lumpy skin disease has spread in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

More than 1,200 cattle have already died in the state due to the disease.

In the prevailing situation, the state government has banned animal fairs to prevent further spread of the disease.

Besides this, cattle survey, treatment and vaccination have been strengthened.

The Indian media Times of India reported this information in a report on Sunday (July 31) citing officials of the state.

According to the report, out of total 33 districts of Gujarat, lumpy skin disease has spread in cattle in 17 districts.

• State officials say more than 1,200 cattle have died in Gujarat as of Sunday.
• To deal with the situation, the state government has strengthened survey, treatment and vaccination programs besides banning animal fairs.
• State Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Raghavji Patel said over 1,240 cattle have died in Gujarat due to the viral disease till Saturday.
• Besides, more than 5 lakh 74 thousand animals have been vaccinated to protect against this disease.
• He says, ‘The viral disease has spread in 17 of the 33 districts of the state and most of them are in Saurashtra region.’
• He added that the affected districts include Kutch, Jamnagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Rajkot, Porbandar, Morbi, Surendranagar, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Botad, Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Banaskantha, Patan, Surat, Araballi and Panchmahal.
• Meanwhile, the Gujarat government issued a notification on July 26 to control the spread of viral lumpy skin disease.

Movement of cattle and organization of animal fairs have been banned in the instructions published through the circular

According to Times of India, a notification issued by the Rajkot district administration has banned cattle trade and fairs till August 21, as well as movement of cattle to other states, districts, talukas and cities.

It further said, “The administration has banned the dumping of carcasses (of cattle) in the open.”

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Raghavji Patel said that 50,328 affected cattle have been treated in 1,746 villages of the affected 17 districts.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has accused the state government of not disclosing the exact number of cattle affected by lumpy skin disease.

The party also demanded compensation for the farmers who lost their cattle.

Apart from this, the Indian political party Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been involved in the death of large number of cattle due to Lumpy Skin Disease.

On Sunday, the group released a video on its social media platform showing a large number of cow carcasses.

The Aam Aadmi Party captioned the video published on its verified Twitter account, ‘Extremely painful! In Gujarat, more than 5000 cows have died painfully due to lumpy virus.

The incompetent BJP government is busy selling illegal liquor across the state instead of vaccinating our cows.’