A RARE HONOUR
Chief Minister , Punjab Capt Amarinder Singh Honoured Dr. Baljit Singh Sidhu Director, Animal Husbandry with "Punjab Parman Patra "at the State Level function in Patiala
FIRST EVER STATE AWARD TO ANIMAL HUSBANDRY DIRECTOR
Even since Independence, not a single veterinarian has been honoured by State Government on this auspicious day. Dr. Baljit Singh Sidhu, the Director of Animal Husbandry has the distinction of being the first Director to be bestowed upon the prestigious State Award – “Punjab Parman Patra-2006”, on the occasion of the State Level Function held at Patiala.
Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh gave away Parman Patras -2006 to 21 persons, who have excelled in their field or have done extra ordinary work/contribution to the cause of the Nation. The recipients included eminent sports persons, Social Workers , Professionals, Doctors etc.
Dr. Sidhu took over the reins of the Department on 1st June, 2003. A large number of new schemes and programmes have since been implemented. The livestock sector is the most viable and potential alternative to diversification in agriculture. The present Government has rightly included this component on the list of the priority areas . Among the remarkable achievements of the Department are freedom from Rinderpest (cattle plague), control of infectious diseases like H.S. (Gal-Ghotu) and Foot and Mouth Disease which are the killers of the farmers’ economy. The whole State is being covered under FMD control / ASCAD programmes sponsored by Government of India. This will ultimately help to make the State a disease free zone and boost export of milk , meat and meat products, eggs etc., thereby raising the level of farmers’ income.
Punjab has the highest per capita availability of milk and also the highest productivity of the cows and buffaloes. The milk production in the State during the 2005-06 was 89.08 lac tons whereas it was only 85.54 tons during 2004-05 and 83.91 tons during 2003-04. This is due to cross breeding programmes being undertaken by the department on intensive scale. The Department has attained ISO 9001-2000 Certification for Semen Banks at Nabha and Ropar. These Semen banks have now State- of-art technology and most sophisticated equipments for production, processing and evaluation of semen. Dr. Sidhu, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Punjab Livestock Development Board, is also implementing Embryo Transfer Technology Project in Patiala in the State. This would revolutionize the breeding activities in the State. We would now be able to get 50-100 calves from a single cow instead of normal 5-6 calves through out life time.
For the first time cash incentives worth 50 lac have been distributed to owners of elite buffaloes giving milk above 12 Litres per day.
For safeguarding the animal wealth, a prestigious Livestock Insurance Scheme sponsored by Government of India has already been launched in the State wherein 50% premium would be paid by the Board and the remaining by the farmers. For diversification in the poultry sector, turkey farming has been successfully launched in the State. In order to reduce the menace of stray cattle population in the State, Herd Registration Bill has already been passed by the State Legislature. This would help to create data base of the livestock wealth and compulsory registration of all animals.
Last but not least, an independent Veterinary University namely; Guru Angand Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University has been established at Ludhiana . This would help to focus on various aspects of Animal Husbandry, Poultry, Fisheries, Piggery, Dairy Technology, meat industry, Veterinary education, research and extension activities and exchange of technical know how and collaboration with other reputed International Universities in the United States, Canada and other Countries.
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