ITBP opens first animal hospital in Chhattisgarh's Naxal-hit region
Raipur, A first-ever field hospital for livestock has been opened in a remote Naxal violence-affected region of Chhattisgarh by ITBP troops, officials said on Sunday.
The free-of-cost medical facility is located in the Sitagaon village of the Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district that borders Maharashtra and is about 150 kilometres from Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur.
The initiative is part of the Union government's plan to eliminate Naxal violence by March 2026 and engage locals in various government-run welfare schemes.
A number of people made a beeline for the facility with their livestock, including hens, cows and even dogs, on Saturday after its inauguration by Vivek Kumar Pandey, commanding officer of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police's 27th battalion.
The officials told PTI that the field hospital would cater to about 12,000 livestock from 20 villages around Sitagaon. These animals are a major source of income for a number of villagers.
The ITBP is deployed in the district for undertaking anti-Naxal operations and its veterinary doctor and paramedical staff will undertake routine checkup and treatment of the livestock free of charge at the field hospital.
The idea to open a basic hospital for the livestock in the area struck the ITBP following a government survey that found 20 villages around Sitagaon had 5,490 poultry hens, 3,550 goats, 1,855 cows and ox, 815 pigs and 640 dogs.
A number of the livestock is reared and is not only a livelihood for many villagers but also a way of life for locals, a senior officer said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and his deputy Vijay Sharma, who also holds the home portfolio, visited the Sitagaon ITBP camp on May 16 to interact with the troops.
The senior officer said many of these animals died as they could not get timely treatment due to the absence of a health facility and doctors.
As a result, the ITBP, which has a veterinary wing, planned to launch a health facility for animals that would also help their owners, he said.
The hospital has got an enclosure for hosting large animals, a medicine and procedure room, and a registration desk.
The mountain-warfare trained ITBP is primarily tasked with guarding the 3,488-kilometre Line of Actual Control with China, apart from rendering a variety of duties in the country's internal security domain, including anti-Naxal operations.
Its border units usually host such veterinary camps for locals in forward areas but this is the first time that such a facility has been opened in a Left Wing Extremism theatre.
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