KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has directed the veterinary and wildlife departments to develop close coordination to save the ailing peafowl in Thar. “The peafowl are not only the beauty of the desert but they are like family members of the people of Thar,” he said.

The CM presided over a meeting at CM House on Wednesday on the issue of the peafowl that are dying because of a mysterious disease in Thar. He said that management, breeding and feeding of peafowl is the responsibility of the wildlife department while disease control came under the domain of the poultry wing of the livestock department. To bring the situation under control, he said, “both departments have to work in close coordination.”

Mr Shah said he had some reports that Newcastle was a poultry disease and the peafowl that ate and drank with hens in the cottages of Thari got infected from there. “Therefore, poultry population of Thar may also be focused on to stop this epidemic,” he said.

Besides, he said, he also had reports that the population of peafowl in Thar was 15,000. But this may have come down. “We have to take proper care as they are also coming from the Indian desert,” he said, and added that this beauty of the Thar desert must be preserved.

He directed forest minister Gianchand Israni to personally monitor the operation of both the departments and save the peafowl.

Minister Gianchand said that he had mobilised his teams in the entire desert area of Thar to provide medical aid and identify the disease the peafowl are suffering from.

Forest Secretary Rizwan Memon, who is also holding the charge of acting chief secretary, said that feed arrangements for peafowl were being made to provide bajra mixed with minced meat in the areas where their population was considerably high. “We have started arranging water mixed with Avisole medicine while their feed is also being mixed with T-20 medicine”, he added.

Also, his team has picked up eight peafowl and they have been in quarantined.

The meeting was also attended by secretary of fisheries & livestock Ramzan Awan.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2016