lucknow

Updated: Sep 23, 2017 20:20 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday watched veterinary doctors perform a surgery on a bull in Varanasi to remove polythene from the animal’s rumen.

A team of veterinary experts, headed by principal scientist Dr Amarpal from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly, removed polythene from the stomach of a bull that was brought to Pashudhan Arogya fair by its owner Raghvendra Singh on Friday.

The Prime Minister went to the stall where veterinary doctors were conducting the surgery and stayed there for about 10 minutes. The surgery lasted about two hours.

“The farmer brought his bull to the fair and informed our team that it had stopped eating fodder and was losing weight. Dr Abhijit Pawade and I examined the bull and diagnosed it with critical rumen impaction (a condition which results from accumulation of indigestible material in the stomach),” Dr Amarpal said.

“We decided to carry out surgery to remove polythene. The surgery gave a lot of relief to the animal,” he said.

Modi spoke to the farmer and wanted to know the reason that caused the infection in bull. The farmer told the PM that the bull had consumed polythene.

“Cleanliness campaign will help in checking infection among the cattle,” Dr Amarpal said and appealed to the people not to dump polythene on the streets.

He said there was no medicine to dissolve polythene in the rumen of the cattle. “The only way to prevent impaction is to keep polythene at a bay,” he said.

“People should understand that the cattle don’t know what is good or bad for their health. They eat whatever they find. Everyone should resolve to ensure proper disposal of polythene,” Dr Pawade said.

He added that the PM’s cleanliness mission was very useful.