Chamarajanagar faces acute shortage of veterinary doctors
Over 900 cattle deaths reported in 18 months
Chamarajanagar: Despite being the home district of Karnataka’s Animal Husbandry Minister K. Venkatesh, Chamarajanagar is reeling under a severe shortage of veterinary doctors.
In a startling revelation, more than 900 cattle deaths have been reported in the past one and a half years, raising serious concerns among farmers and locals alike.
The district currently has only 10 government-appointed veterinary doctors, a shockingly low number for a border district heavily dependent on livestock. Locals are questioning how such a critical gap exists in the very district represented by the minister himself.
“If this is the state of affairs in the minister’s own district, what could be the condition in others?” ask distressed residents.
According to farmers, the major cause of the rising cattle deaths is the inability to provide timely vaccinations and medical care. Due to the lack of government vets, many are forced to turn to private clinics, incurring high costs.
Private veterinary services are not economically feasible for many rural farmers. On average, treating a single cow through private means — including consultation and vaccinations — can cost up to Rs 5,000 per month. This financial burden is unsustainable, especially for small-scale farmers.
Farmers have urged the state government to immediately recruit more veterinary doctors to bridge the gap. However, government action on recruitment has been sluggish. Insiders point to multiple reasons for this: lower salaries compared to the private sector, lack of infrastructure in government-run clinics, and absence of basic amenities, which deter qualified doctors from taking up public service roles.
