DHENKANAL: The SGSY hatchery here has failed to serve its purpose. Lack of coordination between veterinary authorities, poor awareness among SHGs and absence of a rearing unit are being blamed for its failure. The hatchery was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in 2010 on the premises of veterinary hospital near Dhenkanal railway station. The hatchery under Swarn Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana was aimed at making SHGs and poor families (BPL) self-reliant.The hatchery has capacity to accommodate 5,000 eggs in two incubators but only 3,000 eggs are being supplied to the unit due to poor stock. The eggs are transported to the unit from Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO).The eggs are kept in the incubator for 21 days and the chicks sold to buyers through Veterinary Assistant Surgeons and Agricultural Technology Management Agency.Chief District Veterinary Office sources said booking for chicks is done in advance. Earlier, Soil Conservation Department used to provide chicks free to watershed units and SHGs to promote poultry farming in rural areas. However, booking for chicks has not been very encouraging in the past with 2,000 chicks dying while the selling authorities have yet to recover money from the direct buyers. The absence of a rearing unit has only compounded the problem with mortality rate being higher in summer. While the Agriculture Department no longer books chicks for sale, alleged lack of coordination in the Veterinary Department at the district level has proved to be a roadblock with the district administration looking the other way. Atma Project Director Laxmidhar Behera said chicks were earlier booked and given free to SHGs, but not anymore. The lukewarm response to the project is also being attributed to lack of promotion and awareness campaign at block and panchayat level.Chief District Veterinary Officer R K Deura admitted to the lack of coordination among officials and said there was enough fund to make the programme a success. There is a huge demand for chicks and the list of beneficiaries is long but a rearing unit has become indispensable to ensure better survival rate, he said. Deura said the absence of sub- divisional veterinary officer at the centre is affecting supervision. This apart, machines and instruments are gathering dust as hatchery units are yet to be opened in Hindol and Kamakshyanagar blocks. The units are ready but waiting for a nod from the Government to be made functional. Nine rearing units at nine places in Dhenkanal are in the offing, he added.
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