People in rural Pirojpur are unable to take care of their cattle because there is a lack of medication and vaccination facilities as a result of the livestock offices in the district being affected by a multitude of problems, including manpower shortage.
Local sources said most of the livestock offices at all of the six upazilas in the district are ill equipped with inadequate staff and medicine.
People in the villages assert that if they are not provided with sufficient vaccination for their livestock, an epidemic might break out among the poultry, cattle and other animals.
According to livestock office sources, a total of 30 posts have been vacant at different livestock offices in the district which is responsible for the adverse effect on their services.
Official sources said the posts of additional livestock officer, office assistant and night guard at different livestock offices have been vacant for ages.
Last year, district Livestock Department could not achieve their target because of difficulties.
Only 93,000 dairy animals were vaccinated against the target of 253,000 last year.
Also, only 2.9 million poultry birds were vaccinated against the target of 8.25 million, the Livestock Department sources said.
Abul Basar, a resident of Indurkani village under Zia Nagar upazila in Pirojpur, fears that his three cattle might have contracted a disease as he could not to vaccinate them last year.
He said when his cattle fell ill, he took them to Pirojpur district town as he could not get any support from Zia Nagar livestock office.
“When I went to their office, the officer advised me to go to the district town saying that they do not have the medicine.
Mohammad Masudur Rahman, office assistant of Pirojpur Livestock Department, said there were 409,999 cows, 9,604 buffalos, 96,535 goats and 2,525 sheep in the district.
He said a livestock office at each upazila should have one livestock officer, one veterinary officer, and a livestock assistant, a veterinary compounder, one office assistant, but in reality it is different.
He claims that if necessary measures are not taken immediately to fill the vacant posts and supply medicine, an epidemic will break out among the poultry, cattle and other.
No livestock office in six upazilas except Bhandaria and Mothbaria have a livestock officer while Swarupkati, Nazirpur and Mothbaria livestock offices only have veterinary surgeons.
The post of livestock assistant officer have also been vacant, but there is no initiative to fulfil the posts, sources said.
Julfikar Ali Khan, veterinary field assistant at Pirojpur Sadar upazila, said there were seven unions under the upazila. But there were only three veterinary field assistants to cover the vast area.
“As a result we could not provide satisfactory services to our clients,” he said.
Moreover, there is no refrigerator at the livestock office where medicine and vaccines could be persevered properly, he added.
District Livestock Officer Dr Abdul Jabbar Sikdar said they are unable to provide proper services to people as they are faced with many problems such as manpower and medicine shortages.
AKM Shamimul Siddik, deputy commissioner, told the Dhaka Tribune that as cattle is the main income sources for the people in the southern region they would try their best to recruit more staff to ease sufferings of people there.