Five percent of cows fall ill in Gonipura

Five percent of cows fall ill in Gonipura
Cattle that graze fodder cultivated along the river Vrishabhavathi are falling ill. Farmers who feed, fodders grown in Vrishabhavathi water end up with financial losses, due to health issues in their cattle.
Reported by Pavan Kumar S R
Oct. 17, 2023

In Gonipura five percent i.e. 100 cows are facing lower production of milk, problems with reproduction and indigestion. And neighbouring areas like Kengeri and Tavarekere that are using water from different sources to grow fodder report only four-five such cases said by Dr. Kumaraswamy Veterinary chief of Gonipura.
Dr. Kumaraswamy Veterinary chief of Gonipura says,” In my area out of 2000 cows I treat, around 100 cows have problems. There flows Vrishabhavathi river which is being polluted by industrial wastes. Using this water farmers grow fodder, which is fed to cattle. I see more problems of reproduction and indigestion in the cows in this area.”
According to a survey conducted by Indian Journal of Animal Health on the impact of heavy metals on cattle, states that heavy metals concentrate in vital organs, like liver and kidney and cause clinical toxicities along with other subtle effects like reproductive and endocrine disruption.
Suresh a farmer in Gonipura says,” By leaving pump sets to Vrishabhavathi, we extract water to grow grass, maize and ragi. Due to no other water facilities we are using this water to produce dairy products.”
Dr. Babu Retd. Assistant director, Veterinary department, Karnataka Government says,” Due to this health issues are noticed, by using clean water they can overcome these health issues.”
By using clean water to grow fodder farmers can overcome with those health issues, says expert.
To prevent further illness, farmers have to spend more on buying fodder or drill borewell.