“We’re getting water and fodder for the animals. And it’s good quality fodder, which means milk production is above average. I cannot ask for anything more,” says Pamabai Mane of Hingani village.
The first cattle camp of the 2018-19 drought opened on January 1 and is already home to 7000+ cattle who shall stay in the camp till Maharashtra sees the monsoon.
Since the camp opened on January 1, the numbers have grown rapidly, standing at 7,349 animals on January 16. The 1,485 families come from 58 villages in Maan and around. The organizers expect the numbers to grow three-fold in the coming months. The reason cited by the cattle owners is their inability to provide adequate fodder and water to the animals.
Mann Deshi Foundation is running the cattle camp with sponsorship from Bajaj and two Mumbai-based social organizations. Chetna Gala Sinha, founder and chairperson of the organization says they decided to open the camp early to give livestock owners a viable alternative to selling animals in times of acute water stress. She stated that dairy is one of the major sources of livelihood for the people of the region.
There’s a camp near Mhaswad wherein around 1400 families from the villages in Satara’s Mann taluka have moved with their cattle. “I celebrated Sankranti right here, my animals are as important as the rest of the family,” says Ranjana Virkar of Virkarwadi.
Over 2, 50,000 liters of water is provided daily by the organizers at the camp. Also, there’s a vet stationed at the camp, there’s a visiting doctor and obstetrician.
Source – Indian Express
