DLS launches mobile services to provide info about poultry, cattle diseases

The government has launched services to provide information about the diseases of livestock and poultry birds to the farmers, considering the contribution of the sector, officials said.
As part of the initiative, the department of livestock services (DLS) has already started providing information about through SMS across the country, the officials said.   
The DLS, which is under the ministry of fisheries and livestock (MoFL), launched the programme under the access to information project of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Cattle and poultry farmers located in remote chars and backward areas, where it is difficult for the officials of the DLS to reach, will get advice on how to tackle the diseases from the DLS through mobile phone.  
The DLS officials will provide the farmers with technical information and the symptom of cattle diseases and treatment.
The DLS has prepared a computer programming, where answers to 63,000 questions are available.
Any person from any mobile operator could send his/her queries regarding cattle or poultry birds-related problems by texting 16358.
After sending the SMS, the cattle or poultry farmers will get answers to their queries/ questions.  
"The SMS sender does not need to pay money. It is free of cost," Ajay Kumar Roy, director general (DG) of DLS, told the FE.
He said that if there is no answer available with the question bank, officials of the DLS will provide help line number to the farmers.  
The country now produces around seven million tonnes of milk and 5.9 million tonnes of meat annually.  
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