With less than a month until the Chardham Yatra begins on April 30, the Uttarakhand government has sprung into action following the detection of equine influenza in Rudraprayag district. The highly contagious respiratory disease, confirmed in 18 horses and mules in the villages of Veeron and Basti, has prompted swift precautionary measures to safeguard the annual pilgrimage, which relies heavily on equine animals for transportation.
On Tuesday, Animal Husbandry Minister Saurabh Bahuguna convened a review meeting at the Secretariat in Dehradun to assess the situation. With the yatra’s start date looming, he stressed the urgency of screening all horses and mules to ensure no infected animals participate. If reports are to go by, the minister also mandated, in order to enter Uttarakhand, animals arriving from other states must carry a health certificate from their district of origin, accompanied by a negative equine influenza report.
