Saturday, 02 April 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
A contempt notice has been issued by the Uttarakhand high court against the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) vice chairman for failure to comply with its directions issued in 2018.
The HC in its order dated October 3, 2018 in PIL titled Gauri Maulekhi versus Government of Uttarakhand had directed the MDDA to construct a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital at Transport Nagar in Dehradun within a period of two years. Since 2018 till date, MDDA has not initiated any action towards bringing the establishment of such a hospital to fruition.
The petitioner, Gauri Maulekhi who is the member secretary of People For Animals Uttarakhand informed that the Animal Husbandry department has also been made a respondent in the case because it has contributed no effort towards creating such a facility. The HC has asked the respondents to file their response within six weeks.
Maulekhi stated, “There is an appalling lack of a single referral veterinary center in the entire State of Uttarakhand. At present, there is no veterinary referral facility for diagnostics, pathology, admission facilities, healthcare facilities (ultrasound, X Ray), sophisticated surgical facilities etc. for large or small animals alike. This has caused great inconvenience to the public – including communities dependent on livestock and animal husbandry as their livelihood. The State government should make veterinary treatment and care accessible and affordable for everyone at government veterinary centres.”
A large government veterinary hospital situated at Dispensary Road was demolished by the MDDA to create a shopping complex. At that time, assurance was given by the MDDA that a substitute veterinary hospital would be created in the vicinity. However, the same has not been executed. The public has to face the inconvenience of spending considerable money to go to private veterinary practitioners for treatment of animals in their charge. Surgical interventions are often costly ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40, 000- which can be a major burden for the common man, she said.
The government referral veterinary center in Dehradun will serve as a critical resource to not only provide quality veterinary care and service to the animal population but also serve as a screening facility that can curb the spread of zoonotic diseases in time. The ensuing pandemic only serves to emphasise the public health significance of such a centre, added Maulekhi.
