GUJRAT: Fourteen veterinary dispensaries in the rural areas of the district have not been completed even after more than eight years due to ‘paucity’ of funds.

A good number of farmers belonging to arid areas of Gujrat, Kharian and Sara-i-Alamgir tehsils are suffering for not having medical facilities for their livestock.

Cattle farming, especially of goats and cows, is the main source of income for the people residing in Kharian and Sara-i-Alamgir for having natural facility of thousands of acres of Pabbi forest area as grazing site.

The authorities say funds for the construction of 10 such dispensaries have been released and construction will start in the current fiscal year.

The PML-Q government of Pervaiz Elahi had approved the establishment of 14 veterinary dispensaries in union councils in 2007 and Rs11 million had been allocated for the purpose. The land for these medical facilities had been allocated by people of those areas.

The structure of four dispensaries had been completed till 2008 but the PML-N stopped further funding to this project in 2008-09 that caused an inordinate delay in getting these functional. The remaining 10 dispensaries are still awaiting funds.

Sources told Dawn that dispensaries in Makiana, Karnana, Chak Dina, Deona, Surkhpur, Marri Khokharan, Sadowal, Rahtori and other places were among the projects whose funding had been stopped. In the previous fiscal year, the provincial authorities had released some funding but that too lapsed owing to technicalities related to the buildings department, the executing agency.

Dr Tahir, district officer livestock, told Dawn that now the cost estimate of the construction of remaining dispensaries was around Rs12.9 million as Rs1.1 million had previously been spent on some sites and Rs7.5 million had been released now to get the work started. He said hopefully it would start within few weeks.

He said the Punjab government had approved the construction of two veterinary hospitals -- one in Dinga at a cost of Rs30 million on the recommendation of MPA Mian Tariq Mahmood -- and the other near Jaggu headworks in Sara-i-Alamgir tehsil at a cost of Rs25.5 million on the proposal of MPA Malik Hanif Awan.

MPA Tariq is also said to have proposed six more veterinary dispensaries in his constituency of PP-113 Dinga, where people have given land. The MPA had also raised the issue of delay in the establishment of the approved veterinary dispensaries of Gujrat on the floor of the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday last and the minister concerned assured him of initiation of the work on the projects.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2016