Floods leave livestock sector reeling in Ctg

Floods have killed 161,394 cattle and poultry across Chattogram division, inflicting losses of nearly Tk 77.15 crore on the livestock sector, according to a divisional report.

The Chattogram Divisional Livestock Department said the damage was spread across 191 unions in 45 upazilas of five districts, affecting 10,991 livestock and poultry farms.

Chattogram district suffered the heaviest losses at Tk 60.06 crore, followed by Cox's Bazar with Tk 13.53 crore. Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban recorded losses of Tk 2.99 crore, Tk 37.01 lakh and Tk 17.47 lakh, respectively.

Among the affected farms, 4,756 cattle farms incurred losses worth Tk 17.55 crore, while 6,235 poultry farms suffered losses of Tk 19.72 crore. Floodwaters also destroyed 910 tonnes of concentrate feed, 14,265 tonnes of straw and 9,129 tonnes of grass, causing an additional loss of nearly Tk 35 crore.

The dead animals included 71 cattle, 165 goats, 50 sheep, 158,600 chickens and 2,508 ducks, accounting for losses of Tk 4.85 crore.

Beyond the fatalities, more than 3.33 million animals and birds fell ill, including 223,390 cattle, 160,087 sheep and millions of poultry. Veterinary teams have so far treated 11,897 animals and 84,650 poultry, while 10,689 animals and 19,027 birds have been vaccinated.

Floodwaters also submerged thousands of acres of grazing land and damaged eight livestock offices across the division.

Dr Muhammad Izmal Hasan, deputy director (Veterinary Public Health) at the department, confirmed the losses, citing field-level data collected after the floods.