Mysterious disease kills over 200 sheep in Tirunelveli
The Hindu
‘We continue to lose them even after the vaccination’
Outbreak of a mysterious disease has killed over 200 sheep in the district even as the shepherds are facing huge loss due to this rapidly spreading disease with more number of sheep are battling the illness reportedly caused by suspected viral infection. Since the dropping of goat and sheep is excellent manure, the shepherds would have the sheep pens in the farms and the fields ahead of every paddy season in the district. When farmers rearing goat and sheep in Marudhakulam, Moolaikkaraipatti, Munanjipatti, Paruththipaadu, Rengasamudhram and other adjoining areas are taking their flock, each having 150 to 1,000 animals, around Tirunelveli and create pens in the fields, a mysterious disease has started ravaging the sheep over the past 25 days. After sudden swelling in the eyes of the animals, the infected sheep suffer frothing in the mouth. And, the affected animals die within a couple of days even as the infection is spreading rapidly in the flock.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.