Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
The Uttar Pradesh Veterinary Association has claimed that at least 70 of its members, including 30 veterinarians, have died in the second wave of COVID-19 since March this year. Hundreds of staff are still under treatment. Despite this, they are not in the priority list for the vaccine or Covid insurance, Rakesh Kumar, president of the Association, told Gaon Connection.
“We are on mandatory Covid duty, but neither have the employees been declared Corona warriors nor have they received insurance benefits and the vaccine,” Kumar said. “The second wave of Corona has also claimed the lives of thirteen livestock breeding officers, ten veterinary pharmacists, and twenty Class IV personnel till May 24. We have totally lost more than seventy people in the second wave of Corona,” he added.
According to the Uttar Pradesh Veterinary Association, the state has around 11,800 employees and officers, including 2,000 veterinarians, 800 pharmacists and 3,000 livestock breeding officers. A majority of them were deployed for Covid duty and the recently-concluded panchayat elections.
Officials of the animal husbandry department are associated with more than 23 million farmers in Uttar Pradesh, and their work in the villages has not stopped in the pandemic. They work with camels, cows and buffaloes, collecting blood samples and checking for hoof and mouth disease in cattle and glanders in horses. They also work with stray animals.
“Our job requires us to interact with many people. If we are performing Covid duty, we should get our rightful privileges.” Ram Kishore Yadav, President of Para Veterinary Workers Union, Uttar Pradesh, said. He has also written to Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath urging that “the ex-gratia amount of fifty lakh rupees should be provided to dependents of Para Vet colleagues who died due to Corona”.
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Prohibitive treatment cost
“Veterinarians treat, research, are part of immunisation drives, perform magistrate duty, treat outpatients with Covid, are part of emergency services, look after bovines and are involved in surveillance,” narrated Kumar. However, despite this, they are not recognised as frontline employees
“We’ve not been included in the priority vaccination list. This is discriminatory. Some of our members have also died of black fungus [mucormycosis],” the Association president said.
According to the president, most veterinarians who contracted COVID-19 did not receive free treatment. Their families had to pay tens of thousands of rupees for expensive treatment at corporate hospitals, but some died despite it. Many employees had to borrow funds for treatment.
Elaborating on this, Shubham, whose veterinarian father Satish Chandra died on May 14 in Lucknow district following COVID-19 complications, said he was infected while performing his duty. Chandra was to retire in a year. He is survived by his wife and four children — two sons and daughters each.
“The pension and associated formalities are being completed. I’m not sure if there is any COVID-related compensation, and I’m unaware of the department’s role. He was not even provided with the vaccine,” Shubham rued.
Spread of black fungus
Some veterinary department staff have also contracted black fungus. “It is not just Corona anymore. Black fungus is also causing countless deaths,” said Kumar. He narrated the case of TP Mishra, the additional director of animal husbandry posted in Gorakhpur. Mishra recovered from Corona but succumbed to black fungus.
“Surendra Lal, a joint director in the animal husbandry department, is fighting a black fungus infection at AIIMS in Rishikesh,” Kumar pointed out. Lal’s left upper jaw had to be removed, he added. “When the government uses our services to control the pandemic, it needs to take some responsibility for our lives too,” Kumar pointed out.
Meanwhile, Sanjeev Singh, general secretary of the state Veterinary Association has, in a statement, demanded supply of regular amphotericin B injections to Lal and others battling mucormycosis.
Yadav, President of Para Veterinary Workers Union, has demanded that all ParaVet and Pashumitra colleagues should be declared frontline workers and provided with an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh each.
Insurance claims
The state government insisted insurance claims were being settled. “The insurance claims of veterinarians and personnel who died due to Covid are being settled promptly. An eligible member of their family will get a job based on merit as well,” SSK Malik, director, administration and development, animal husbandry, reassured Gaon Connection.
Veterinarians were on Covid duty last year and many were redeployed during the second wave. The Association has sought that those who were felled by the disease get the same privileges that Corona Warriors receive. “We have written to the government about designating them as Corona Warriors and providing them COVID-19 insurance, and are awaiting a reply,” Malik said.
The Uttar Pradesh Veterinary Association officials said that following government directions, data is being collected from the districts so that a consolidated list of those affected could be drawn up.
Read this report in Hindi here.
