DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

An initiative by the Anil Agarwal Foundation gave a corpus of Rs 100 crores Thursday towards bolstering animal welfare in Haryana through an MoU with the state government.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Haryana government was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in Gurugram, an official statement said.

As part of the MoU, The Animal Care Organization (TACO) will upgrade the Government Veterinary Hospital in Gurugram into a 24x7 multi-speciality animal hospital and begin the construction of an animal birth control (ABC) unit, laboratory, pharmacy, training centre and shelter for extremely critical animals in Haryana. The facility would be spread over 2 acres in Kadipur, Gurugram, the statement said.

TACO will also deploy an ambulance and an advanced mobile health van to provide emergency care services at doorstep.

Speaking on this occasion, the Chief Minister said that he is delighted to witness this significant partnership between The Animal Care Organization and the State Government. The effort to transform the landscape of animal welfare in Haryana, earlier with the Faridabad shelter and now the initiative in Gurugram will vastly improve veterinary care services in our state which the residents of Gurugram as well as nearby cities can make use of. He said that "I look forward to seeing the positive impact this initiative will have on the well-being of animals and the overall health of our communities". The Chief Minister instructed the concerned officers to upgrade the care services for the animals in Guashalas.

Chairperson of Hindustan Zinc Ltd, Non-Executive Director at Vedanta and Anchor, TACO, Priya Agarwal Hebbar said that they are delighted to collaborate with Haryana yet again to augment animal welfare infrastructure in the state. With an investment of Rs. 100 crore for the upgradation of the Government Veterinary Hospital in Gurugram, the construction of a 24x7 multi-specialty animal hospital and our existing shelter in Faridabad. We are committed towards ensuring availability of state-of-the-art veterinary care in Haryana. I am thankful to the Chief Minister for his continued support as we work towards the vision of One Health, she said.

Ms. Ritu Jhingon, President, Anil Agarwal foundation informed the Chief Minister that excellent services for animal care will be provided including OPD, modern surgical facilities and the use of best practices.

Notably, TACO's initiatives encompass a holistic approach to 'One Health', recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared

environment.
(editor@dailyworld.in)