March 28, 2008	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 19, 1429

KARACHI, March 27: The controversy over the city district government’s animal vaccination drive continues to rage as animals are reportedly developing abscesses and falling ill, while some have died after being administered an unknown vaccine by CDGK-hired contractors – allegedly unqualified vets – at three entry points of Karachi.

Experts have severely criticised this drive, stating that it’s beyond all norms of veterinary sciences. Besides, traders and dairy farmers are being over-charged for the vaccine, the details of which haven’t yet been disclosed by the CDGK despite the passage of almost a month.

“There is no justification in carrying out vaccination of animals meant for slaughter because they are sold for the purpose as soon as they reach city markets, while immunity against any disease develops in 15 to 21 days. Almost 80 per cent of animals being brought into Karachi daily are for slaughtering.

“Also, non-technical staff is carrying out the procedure in highly unhygienic conditions, causing abscesses, a collection of pus that accumulates in a cavity formed by the tissue on the basis of an infectious process, in animals. All animal vaccines cost between Rs2 to Rs5, but the CDGK is charging Rs50 for the procedure,” said a vet working at the Cattle Colony.

Shrouded in mystery

Mystery shrouds the entire process since nobody, including City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal, is willing to talk about the issue. On the other hand, the stakeholders are fairly perturbed over the illness and death of their animals, allegedly being caused by “unbranded, substandard vaccines.”

“Nobody knows the status and qualification of the staff administering vaccines. It’s beyond comprehension why the government is hiding the details of the vaccine. When traders are being charged for it, they should be told about the type of the vaccines in order to avoid any chances of double-dose. Usually, animals brought from the interior of Sindh and Punjab are already vaccinated,” said Sheikh Chawla, a dairy farmer in Gadap.

“The government’s flawed strategy is making animals ill and further adding to the farmers’ cost of production,” he complained. Members of the Livestock Merchant Welfare Association (LMWA), on the other hand, accused the government of killing their animals on the pretext of vaccination.

“Almost daily, one or two animals die because of the poor quality vaccine being administered at three entry points of Karachi. Around 7,000 animals daily enter Karachi from these routes and by charging Rs50 per animal for vaccination, the city government earns Rs350,000 every day,” said Abdul Latif Qureshi, General Secretary of LMWA, adding that some transporters just made the payment to avoid vaccination.

“There are no refrigerators to maintain the shelf-life of the vaccine, plus animals are being vaccinated from the same syringes. Also, the CDGK person, who claims to be a doctor and under whose supervision the treatment is carried out, is only present during the day despite the fact that most animals pass through the check-posts at night,” he said.

When Sindh Animal Husbandry Director-General Dr Ghulam Sarwar was contacted, he said: “The city district government Karachi doesn’t come in my jurisdiction. The correct procedure of vaccination, however, is to administer the preparation at the farm and not during travel because the animals are highly stressed. Secondly, if there is a need to do that then the department concerned should set up a quarantine facility where animals should be kept for 8 to 10 days under observation to examine their response to the vaccine before they are released.”

However, he said, the most important thing was to know which vaccine had been administered to the animals.

‘Process not transparent’

Apart from the dispute over the vaccine’s quality and its proper administration, the entire process of taking fees and awarding a contract for the purpose is anything but transparent, say sources. In addition, the government issues no medical health certificate after vaccination, which is obligatory upon the government vets according to the agreement signed with the contractor.

“We are given a coupon of Rs50 stating the date, receipt number, the name of the transporter and the total amount received with the signature of the person charging fees,” said Ahmed Bilal, an animal transporter.

Traders are also charged Rs150 as the fee for keeping milch animals that they pay along with the vaccination fee at the check-posts of Baba Bori, National Highway; Khadeji, Zero Point, Super Highway and Hub River Road and Northern Bypass. However, the fee is charged on all big animals, including those being brought into Karachi for slaughtering purposes.

“Milch animals constitute only 20 per cent of the animals coming into Karachi. The rest are for slaughtering purposes. But livestock merchants have to pay this fee on all types of animals. Secondly, as the title of this fee indicates, this tax should be collected at dairy farms rather than at check-posts,” said Iqbal Babar of the All Sindh Livestock Merchant Welfare Association, adding that animal traders also paid Rs10 to Rs50 in different livestock markets of Karachi as entry fees.

The episode of charging Rs50 in the name of vaccination fee started a few months ago when the CDGK-appointed contractor started charging the fee without actually administering the vaccine. The case was taken to court.

“The court declared the Rs50 vaccination fee illegal and asked the CDGK to assign the job to its own veterinary staff. This year, the contract was renewed and given to the same person, who failed to pay over Rs7 million to the city government. To allay the objection of the court, a government vet is present during the day, under whose supervision animals are vaccinated,” said Mr Qureshi of the LMWA.

“The fact of the matter is that this is a clear violation of the SLGO 2001, under which the government is required to seek the opinion of all stakeholders concerned before imposing any tax,” he said, adding that forced vaccinations had started in the first week of this month, though contractors started “extorting” fees much earlier.

He also said the contract had been given for two years, which should legally be for only one financial year.