{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Sirohi Panchayat Elections: Veterinary staff assigned election duty sparks worry among livestock owners over animal care",
  "summary": "Livestock owners in Sirohi are deeply concerned as veterinary department employees are deployed for upcoming panchayat election duties, threatening emergency animal care. Local unions and farmers warn that a lack of staff during elections could lead to delayed treatments and potential animal fatalities, mirroring issues faced in previous polls.",
  "content": "Preparations for the upcoming panchayat elections in Sirohi have led to the deployment of various department personnel, including staff from the animal husbandry sector, for poll-related duties. Approximately 100 employees from the department across the district have been assigned to election work, encompassing technical staff as well. This administrative decision has raised serious concerns about the disruption of veterinary services at numerous sub-centers and hospitals in rural areas. During previous elections, the assignment of veterinary personnel to poll duties left many livestock owners unable to secure timely treatment for their sick animals, with some locations even reporting casualties due to untreated medical emergencies.\n\nIncidents of untreated livestock and local grievances\nA striking example of this recurring problem occurred in Kivarli village within the Abu Road region, where local livestock owner Ganpat Singh lost an animal during past elections. Because the assigned veterinary worker was deployed for poll duty, the animal failed to receive timely medical attention and ultimately died. Addressing these hardships, local farmers from Santpur village, Peeraram Devasi and Vagharam Devasi, voiced their ongoing frustrations. They explained that diverting veterinary staff to election duties creates severe hurdles for farmers trying to treat sick livestock and manage daily husbandry tasks. Having faced similar troubles previously, the villagers are strongly appealing to the government to exempt veterinary personnel from poll assignments so that animal healthcare remains uninterrupted.\n\nDemands from the national livestock association\nStepping up pressure on the administration, Savaram Devasi, the Sirohi district president of the Rashtriya Pashupalak Sangh, formally submitted a memorandum to the Sirohi District Collector. The representation urges the authorities to guarantee the constant availability of veterinary doctors and medical staff at hospitals throughout the election period. Savaram emphasized that pulling hospital staff away for electoral duties severely jeopardizes animal healthcare networks. In the rural tracts of Sirohi, animal husbandry serves as the primary livelihood foundation for residents. Consequently, ensuring prompt medical access during sudden illnesses, physical injuries, or emergency situations remains an absolute necessity.\n\nEmployee union protests and election commission guidelines\nConcurrently, the Rajasthan Pashupalak Karmachari Sangh has also strongly opposed the mobilization of technical staff for election assignments. Sirohi district president Shankarlal and district secretary Gopalakrishnan Upadhyay formally petitioned the District Collector, demanding the exemption of livestock inspectors, livestock extension officers, and senior livestock extension officers from election duties. Their petition explicitly cited a circular issued by the Chief Electoral Officer of Rajasthan on June 22, 2023, which outlines instructions to keep doctors and compounders working in veterinary hospitals free from poll-related obligations. The union underscored that continuous delivery of essential services such as preventing infectious animal diseases, administering intensive vaccinations, performing artificial insemination, and providing emergency medical care could be severely undermined by staff shortages.\n\nWhat this means for you\nThe disruption of veterinary services due to election deployment directly impacts rural livelihoods and animal welfare across affected regions.\n\n• Across India: Farming families and rural households relying on livestock may face acute delays in securing emergency medical treatment for sick animals during administrative deployments. Essential prophylactic programs like vaccinations and artificial insemination can experience temporary halts due to staffing deficits at local clinics.\n• In Sirohi: Since animal husbandry forms the economic backbone of rural families in Sirohi district, the absence of veterinary personnel during emergencies creates a direct risk of preventable livestock fatalities akin to previous election cycles.\n\nWhy this happened\nAdministrative requirements for conducting large-scale democratic elections necessitate the mobilization of personnel from various government sectors, inadvertently pulling technical staff from specialized departments like animal husbandry. Despite existing guidelines protecting essential service workers, local administrative pressures during polling often lead to the assignment of available government employees.\n\n• Staff Deployment: Managing extensive voting infrastructure requires a vast workforce, prompting district administrations to draw personnel from multiple secondary departments to meet staffing quotas.\n• Regulatory Guidelines: Although the Chief Electoral Officer of Rajasthan issued circulars protecting certain medical professionals, practical execution gaps at the district level often bypass these exemptions during major exercises.\n• Historical Precedent: Past electoral cycles experienced similar administrative overlaps, demonstrating that emergency staffing demands consistently intersect with vital rural healthcare functions.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. How many veterinary employees have been assigned election duty in Sirohi?\nApproximately 100 employees from the department, including technical staff, have been deployed for election duties in the district.\n\n2. What primary problem do livestock owners face during elections?\nDue to staff deployment, sick animals fail to receive timely medical treatment and emergency care.\n\n3. What demand did the National Livestock Association make to the administration?\nThe association submitted a memorandum to the District Collector asking to ensure the availability of veterinary doctors and staff at hospitals during elections.\n\n4. Which specific circular was cited by the employee union?\nThe union cited a circular issued by the Chief Electoral Officer of Rajasthan on June 22, 2023, regarding exemptions for medical personnel.\n\n5. Which livestock owner suffered a loss during the previous elections?\nGanpat Singh, a livestock owner from Kivarli village in Abu Road, lost an animal due to a lack of timely medical treatment.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/rajasthan/sirohi-men-pnchayata-chunava-dyuti-se-pashu-chikitsa-karmiyon-ko-chhuta-na-milane-para-barhi-chinta-ilaja-ke-abhava-men-snkata-men-48954",
  "category": "Rajasthan",
  "publishedAt": "2026-10-18",
  "tags": [
    "Sirohi",
    "Panchayat Elections",
    "Veterinary Care",
    "Livestock",
    "Rajasthan",
    "Election Duty"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}