Farmer files PIL over Kyasanur Forest Disease spread

PANAJI:

Farmer Rohan Joshi

, a member of the

Sattari Shetkari Manch

, filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the high court of Bombay at Goa on Thursday, challenging the insufficient efforts of the state government to control the spread of the

Kyasanur Forest Disease

(

KFD

) in Goa.

Over 70 cases of KFD, also known monkey fever, have been detected in Goa since January this year, including one each at Patradevi in the Pernem taluka and at

Savoi Verem

in the Ponda taluka. The disease is caused by a virus that is transmitted through tick bites.

Joshi, who is also the spokesperson of the All Goa Farmer’s Sangh, said the vaccination drive by the government to immunize citizens against the disease was inadequate and that more efforts were required to control the state’s monkey population.

In the PIL, he has sought that farmers be granted arms licences to tackle attacks by infected monkeys.

While this throws in the debate of the vermin issue— the Rhesus macaque is a Schedule 1 species—Joshi argued that Himachal Pradesh has declared this monkey as vermin, thus legalizing its culling, and demanded that Goa follow suit

He also demanded compensation to the kin of deceased KFD victims.