Source: Chronicle News Service
Senapati/Ukhrul, October 05 2021: As many as 8 buffaloes have died of a mysterious disease at Phaibung Khullen village in Senapati district.
Villagers said that the death of buffaloes started on September 30 and continued in subsequent days.
Sources from the village said that the cattle died soon after they stopped grazing and developed abdominal swelling.
On receiving information about the cattle deaths, officials of district veterinary department reportedly rushed to the spot-on October 2 and performed post mortem on the carcasses and collected samples that were sent to Imphal lab for testing at the Directorate of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry Services.
After returning from the spot, the officials informed that bloating stomach, swollen neck and off-feed were witnessed in the carcasses.
The lab report is likely to come out after a day or two.
Village chairman, RK Chozii appealed to the authority concerned to look into the misery of the affected villagers as livestock are considered a wealth for them.
The ill-fated villagers whose livestock perished due to the mysterious disease are now clueless as to how they would make meet ends They sought immediate attention from the government to assist them in every possible way.
Meanwhile, a five-member team of Veterinary department from Imphal that reached Ukhrul on Tuesday is currently examining the sudden death of buffaloes at the border villages of Tusom Khullen and Wahong.
The Veterinary team arrived around 3 pm and headed towards the sites where the cattle were found dead.
According to sources, the team collected samples from the dead buffaloes for testing in Imphal.
According to the local villagers, the team was arranged and despatched by Chingai MLA Khashim Vashum after the village development committee apprised him about the situation.
"We are thankful to our MLA for the swift and timely action he took up in sending the Veterinary team to meet the exigencies of the situation here," villagers said.
The number of buffaloes dying due to the unknown disease is growing, with the recovery of more corpses of the animal daily.
In Tusom village, a total of 19 carcasses of buffaloes were recovered, while 28 corpses of the cattle were spotted in Wahong on Tuesday, villagers said.
They said that mysterious death of buffaloes was first spotted in the border villages since October 2.Since then, the owners of buffaloes in the villages have been looking for their cattle.
The cattle were found dead mysteriously in the open field which are traditional grazing sites for the village.
The number of cattle dying from the unknown disease could be more, they said, as there could be others that are not spotted yet.
In Tusom Khullen, death of cows has also been witnessed, the villagers said.
The Veterinary department has collected samples including blood and intestine of the dead animals for testing to ascertain the cause, they said.