Devotee Alert: No Horse or Mule Operations Allowed in Kedarnath Yatra This Year

Rudraprayag (The Uttam Hindu): The Animal Husbandry Department has taken a big step after symptoms of equine influenza virus were seen in horses and mules travelling on the Kedarnath Yatra route. Secretary Animal Husbandry Dr. Purushottam held a meeting with the officials and ordered a complete ban on the movement of all horses and mules for the next 24 hours.

This decision has been taken after the sudden death of 8 horses and mules on Sunday and 6 on Monday. A team of experts from the Government of India is reaching Rudraprayag to find out the real reason behind these deaths. At the same time, infected or suspected horses are being quarantined and samples have been sent to the National Equine Research Institute, Hisar for testing.

The secretary said that between 4 and 30 April, the department had screened more than 16,000 horses and mules and only those animals with negative reports were allowed to travel. Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Ashish Rawat said that the ban will continue till the test report comes. It was also made clear that if anyone makes a sick animal work, legal action will be taken against the concerned animal owner.