Assam Governor calls for stronger Animal Health Security at AVFU Regional Conference
Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya inaugurated an AVFU regional conference on animal health security in the Northeast. The meeting focused on disease surveillance, diagnostic gaps and tools to strengthen livestock health management.
- Jul 28, 2026,
- Updated Jul 28, 2026, 9:18 PM IST
A day-long regional conference on "NER Animal Health Security for Viksit Bharat" was held at Assam Veterinary and Fishery University (AVFU) on July 28, bringing together veterinary experts, scientists and policymakers to discuss strengthening animal disease surveillance and livestock health across the Northeast.
The conference began with a welcome address by Dr Niranjan Kalita, Vice-Chancellor of AVFU. Former ICAR Deputy Director General Dr K M Bujarbaruah, who attended as the Guest of Honour, highlighted the vulnerability of the northeastern region to the cross-border transmission of animal pathogens.
Dr Y P S Malik, Deputy Director General (Education), ICAR, attended as the Special Guest of Honour.
Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, who inaugurated the conference as the Chief Guest, underlined the significance of livestock in Assamese and Indian culture, stating that healthy livestock is essential for ensuring the economic well-being of farmers.
During the inaugural session, the Governor also launched two software-cum-mobile applications NER-LDF and PDDES developed by Dr K P Suresh, Dr Abhijit Deka, and Dr N N Barman to support livestock disease management and surveillance.
Dr Dipjyoti Rajkhowa, Vice-Chancellor of Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat, also attended the programme as Guest of Honour.
The conference featured a series of technical brainstorming sessions covering animal disease diagnosis, emerging and re-emerging diseases, the disease scenario in the Northeast, existing diagnostic infrastructure and preventive measures, as well as critical gaps in the region's animal health security framework.
Leading technical sessions were delivered by Dr Y P S Malik, Dr N N Barman, and Dr K P Suresh.
The conference witnessed participation from officials of ICAR and its regional research centres, directors of animal husbandry departments, veterinary experts and representatives from all northeastern states. The programme concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Dr Bibekananda Saikia, Dean of the College of Veterinary Science, Khanapara.