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Training.

47. One veterinary assistant surgeon underwent a refresher
course at the Imperial Veterinary Research
Institute, Mukteswar, during the year and 32
candidates were selected and sent to the Bengal, Bihar and Punjab
Veterinary Colleges for training as United Provinces stipendiaries.

Forty-seven men qualified as stockmen and were posted to dif-
ferent districts to assist the subordinate veterinary staff in connexion
with rural development work and disease control.

Tours of Veterinary
Inspectors.

48. Veterinary Inspectors toured on an average for 160 days in
the year, visiting 3,552 villages during their
tours.

                                    CHAPTER XI

                              GENERAL REMARKS

Improvement    in
reporting of diseases.

49. There was an improvement during the year in the system
of reporting diseases by village patwaris and
rural development organizations. In districts
where settlement operations were continued
and where the services of patwaris were not always available, the
reporting of diseases was entrusted to village mukhias. This agency,
together with the employment of village chaukidars recently introduced
in certain districts, is likely to prove a valuable adjunct to our system
of reporting outbreaks of disease in villages.

Special tract scheme.

50. The veterinary assistant surgeons working in connexion
with the special tract scheme did useful work
in checking the spread of cattle contagious
diseases as these occurred. It was considered advantageous to treat
this staff as a more mobile unit and their services were transferred
from Agra to Meerut district in October, 1939, to check abnormal
outbreaks of live-stock epidemics there, and later to Lucknow for
a similar purpose.

Rural development
work.

51. The staff continued to pay particular attention to live-stock
diseases in the rural development villages.
They attended meetings in connexion with rural
development work and suggested improvements
in matters relating to the activities of the department. Pamphlets
dealing with common contagious diseases of animals were distributed
in the rural development villages and lectures were delivered on
veterinary first-aid and subjects dealing with cattle welfare and
animal health problems in general.

Migration of cattle
from outside the prov-
ince.

52. Consequent on the persistence of famine conditions in Hissar
and in adjoining districts a large number of
cattle migrated from the Punjab to these prov-
inces. Three veterinary assistant surgeons
were deputed from the Punjab to help to
control disease among these cattle, they returned to their own
province in June, 1939.