Ministry of Agriculture Faces Scrutiny Over Mismanagement of Lumpy Skin Epidemic Statistics

It has come to light that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has mishandled the statistics related to the deaths of cattle due to the lumpy skin epidemic. This revelation emerged after corrections were made to the statistics published by the Ministry on the 14th of Shrawan and the 3rd of Bhadra, which resulted in an adjustment of the number of deceased animals by 1,231.

The statistics collected by the department from agricultural knowledge centers across the country were gathered arbitrarily. As a result, it has been revealed that assessments related to disease transmission, diagnosis, animal mortality, and damage have been based on guesswork.

The numbers may have been inflated in an attempt to secure government relief funds.

On Shrawan 14, the Ministry released statistics on the lumpy skin epidemic, reporting that 1,149,100 animals were infected, 867,810 had recovered after treatment, 183,801 were actively infected, and 48,880 had died. However, it was later announced that the number of four-footed animals that had died within a two-week period had been reduced by 1,231 compared to the initial figures. On the 2nd of Bhadra, the public was informed that 47,649 animals had died due to the epidemic.

The Department of Animal Services acknowledged that this was an error and cited issues arising from the lack of an integrated agricultural information system.

The credibility of other information provided by the Ministry has also been called into question due to the significant disparities in the number of deceased animals between the original and revised statistics. According to the updated data, the total number of infected animals in the country stands at 1,305,361, with 1,082,159 having recovered after treatment and 175,553 currently infected animals.

During a five-month period, the department reported importing 1,369,000 doses of vaccine and vaccinating 686,450 animals.