LIVESTOCK INSURANCE SCHEME HALTED FOR OVER 2 YRS
KOTA: The Bhamashah livestock insurance scheme of Rajasthan is on a halt for over the last two years adding to the woes of the cattle breeders in the state.
Under the scheme, cattle breeders were given subsidies on insurance premium for availing benefit of the scheme which was launched in 2015 during the tenure of former BJP lead state government.
General secretary of the Hadoti Kisan Union, Dashrath Kumar, said, “Livestock insurance schemes should be revived in the state as it will help cattle breeders, who are mostly farmers, to get compensated for their livestock loss.”
When asked about the principal secretary, animal husbandry department, Rajasthan, Virendra Singh, said that the Bhamashah scheme is a centre-state funded scheme of the union government’s National Livestock Mission, in which Central government and state government provides shares of insurance premium subsidy while a component of the premium is paid by the cattle breeders.
“However, the scheme is on halt over the last two years since the state has not received share from the centre,” the officer said.
“The Government of India has floated tenders twice for the livestock insurance scheme but no insurance company has participated in the bidding,” Singh added.
“Rajasthan government also held a meeting with the insurance companies for reviving the animal husbandry scheme in which insurance companies have raised demand for increasing the livestock insurance premium from 3% to 5%,” he said.
“We have written to the union government about the demand to increase livestock insurance premium to which the union government replied that the matter is pending before the finance department for final approval,” he added.
JODHPUR: The eco-transformation that took place in western Rajasthan with the expansion of the Indira Gandhi canal project (IGNP) over the last three decades has led to the abolition of previously most common snake found in the Thar Desert.
The findings of a four-year intensive field survey of the Zoology Department of Jai Narayan Vyas University pointed out that these changes have adversely affected Snakes’ diversity, distribution, and habitat preference in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner district.
“Finding of this study suggested the straightforward abolition of previously most common snake reported by such as Duboia ruselli, Python molurus, Spalerosophis diedema (Rajatbansi), and Myriopholis blanfordi (Sindh thread snake) and vary rare sighting of Ptyas mucosa (Dhaman), Coelognathus Helena (Abhusit), Psammpohis leithii (Shigg), Oligodon arnensis, Lycodon striatus, Bugarus sindhanus (Peewna), and Echis carinatus sochureki (Pad/bandi) recorded from the study,” research scholar Rakesh Kumawat said.
“There are 22 snake species and one subspecies observed of seven families in the entire study period. Species based occurrence revealed new information on their previously known area of occurrence in many species. In western Rajasthan, 16 snake species were reported in a thorough study. A recent study in two urban desert areas (Jodhpur and Jaisalmer) accounted for 14 species of snakes.whereas, this
A RECENT STUDY IN 2 URBAN DESERT AREAS (JODHPUR AND JAISALMER) ACCOUNTED FOR 14 SPECIES OF SNAKES
study reports 22 species and one subspecies from the Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Bikaner district. Few species persistently dispersed throughout the three districts,” he added.
According to study, IGNP is witnessing extraordinary expansion, growth, and developmental activities such as buildings, road construction, deforestation, unscientific agriculture practices, unsuitable crops, water-intensive crops, excess uses of chemical fertilizers, and pesticides. Simultaneously, deteriorated situations in the canal area also emerged due to natural causes of land degradation, the encroachment of dunes, a prosper imbalance in lithological factors, and increased forest areas.
“Recently some negative issues such as waterlogging and salinity have started to emerge near the canal area. These changes directly or indirectly led to the thickening of the soil surface, moisture, and lower temperature that impact the poikilothermic animals such as snakes, lizards, and frogs,” dean faculty of Science and professor in department of zoology, Ashok Purohit said.
“It is apparent from this research that the human population explosion had claimed several kinds of a new creation, habitat encroachment, disorganized agricultural practices, and urbanization changed the topography of the region. Corresponding to this, various kinds of eco-transformation have occurred due to expanding the IGNP in the Thar region.the snake diversity in this region needs further surveys to collate information about the presentday population, diversity, and threats to the species and their habitat preferences,” he said.