6
The other fairs of note were Bihta, Barapur, Dharmganj, and Khagra,
of which the first two were visited by me and the others by the Deputy
Superintendent and the Inspectors.
Arrangements have been made whereby temporary dispensaries are
now provided at each fair.
SUBORDINATE VETERINARY ESTABLISHMENT.
Table VII shows the strength of the Subordinate Veterinary Establish-
ment. At the end of the year there were five Inspectors and 62 Veterinary
Assistants, excluding the Assistant in charge of Hazaribagh Pinjrapole, against
56 (including 5 reserve Assistants) of the previous year.
Besides the above, one Deputy Superintendent, Babu S. C. Pal, First
Glanders Inspector, was employed for 7 months, from September 1911 to
March 1912, on a salary Rs. 150—200. The proposal to make the appointment
permanent was dropped on the formation of the new Province.
As regards Inspectors, Babu N. L. Mitter having been retained at the
Bengal Veterinary College, Babu B. L. Sur continued to work under the
Department in charge of the Muzaffarpur Circle. Babu P. N. Das was in
charge of the Presidency Circle but was transferred to Bihar at the end of
the year as First Inspector. In addition to ordinary inspection duties he
attended the outbreaks of glanders at Berhampore, Jessore, and Burdwan.
Babu D. N. Sirkar held charge of the Orissa Circle. He was also deputed
to attend the glanders outbreaks at Berhampore and Jessore. Sirdar Sucha
Singh continued to hold charge of the Gaya Circle. He spent 255 days on
tour and attended outbreaks of cattle disease in Gaya, Shahabad, Hazaribagh,
Palamau, and Bhagalpur besides inspecting the Veterinary Dispensaries,
and the work of the Assistants of his circle. Babu N. N. Mazumdar, who
held charge of the Bhagalpur Circle, was transferred to Bengal in March and
since that time the post has been vacant.
The work of the Inspectors Das, Sur, Sirkar, and Sucha Singh was
satisfactory. The other Inspector was most unreliable.
As regards the Veterinary Assistants, the majority of them have done
good work during the year, but the Veterinary Assistants of Purulia and
Sasaram are so unsatisfactory that the question of their removal from the
Department will have to be considered.
RESEARCH WORK.
The collecting of biting flies has continued during the year and a large
number have been sent to Pusa, but their identification has not yet been
completed. It will be continued during the present year, special attention
being paid to the jungle tracts of Orissa and Chota Nagpur and to the
districts of Purnea and Champaran.
Slides containing infective material continued to be sent to the Bengal
Veterinary College. In the coming year, however, two of the Inspectors
will be provided with microscopes for diagnosis of disease in the field.
As regards kamri, no progress has been made into the elucidation of
this fatal disease, but cases for experiment and observation will be sent to
Muktesar as they are required.
GENERAL REMARKS.
The improvement of the previous year has continued as a number of
the useless and unreliable Assistants have been eliminated. Want of funds
by District Boards and scarcity of suitable graduates are among the principal
reasons why expansion has been so low. At the present time there is a
dearth of men suitable for promotion to the Inspector's grade, and this, I am
afraid, will continue for some time.
Rules for the dispensaries and hospitals have not yet been provided,
but it is expected they will be issued before the end of the present year.