The government veterinary dispensary at Kallur in Wayanad is a far cry from the dingy rooms and lack of basic amenities that characterise most veterinary institutions in the country.
The modern facilities here include an air-conditioned laboratory, a swanky waiting lounge with cosy sofas, and a coffee vending machine, apart from a pharmacy, a registration counter, and facilities to observe sick animals.
The Noolpuzha grama panchayat has spent ₹80 lakh for the project, including the renovation of the old building, construction of a compound wall, and interlocking tiles on the premises of the dispensary.
Former Noolpuzha grama panchayat president K. Shobhan Kumar was the brain behind the project, and it took nearly four years to complete it.
Various modern apparatus such as a haematology analyser to count and identify blood cells at high speed with accuracy, a bio-chemistry analyser to conduct tests to measure chemicals at various stages of the biological processes on a wide range of test samples from blood, and a digital microscope have been installed in the laboratory. The local body has also appointed a laboratory technician.
The building has been equipped with solar panels at a cost of ₹20 lakh, and it generates 25 kW power a day.
“Many a time, keeping vaccines for cattle was a difficult task for us as power failure was a major issue in the area,” K. Assainar, veterinary surgeon at the dispensary, told The Hindu. But after the installation of the solar panel, the issue was resolved, and round-the-clock power supply is available at the dispensary, he said.
The dispensary uses 10 kW power a day, and the remaining is sold to the KSEB. The civic body can earn an income of nearly ₹8,000 a month from it. “We have set up the vending machine and seating arrangements for farmers as the farming community is the backbone of our economy,” Dr. Assainar said.
The dispensary caters to for around 1,200 dairy farmers. They rear nearly 5,600 heads of cows and produce around 38-lakh litres of milk a year.
The panchayat has already set a model in the healthcare sector, and the family health centre at Noolpuzha has won many accolades. It was also selected twice for the National Quality Assurance Certification (NQAC).
