Ponies suffer fatal fate in the land which gave Polo to the world

Imphal, July 03: A visit at the Regional Pony Development Farm at Tingkai Khunou near Oinam belies the State Government's promises or the efforts made to develop and preserve the local breed of horses which have brought immeasurable fame to the State. Of the 70 breeds of the short statured horse species introduced initially at the farm under an ambitious project of the State Government in 1988, a staggering 54 ponies have died over the years due to lack of fodder and treatment facilities at the farm. The condition of those remaining upto the 2000 census are a pity to watch with contracted humps and rather too skinny features. Several have contracted diseases and the only mentionable curative "medicine" at the farm is Phenyl. The farm was set up by the State Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department with funding from the North Eastern Council at the village located to the west of Oinam in 1988. It was taken over by the State Government later in 1992 with the aim of breeding the original local pony breed and developing them. It has accommodation capacity of 100 ponies. The, current condition of the farm and the ponies speaks volumes of the authorities' neglect and treatment of a rare breed of pony which have received commendations from a person no less than Prince Charles of England. The farm caretaker Paominthang Haokip told these reporters that the ponies were earlier provided with abundant fodder including gram and husk when the farm was run by NEC. The problems arose after the State Govt took over. After the takeover the ponies were provided with hay stacks and they died due to lack of nutritious food, he said adding the situation is worse now as the supply has been completely stopped. As the farm is located in the hills, grazing fields are limited. When they become ill, there is no veterinary doctor to treat them. A shocking discovery at the farm is the use of Phenyl for all kinds of treatment for the ponies. Three ponies are down with different diseases while the others have developed wobbly feet. Currently, the farm has one male pony, 13 mares and 22 colts. The stable has definitely seen better days and the walls have caved in. The ponies are kept huddled in one of the "best" rooms which is nothing more than a thatched roofed room with full of overgrown mosses and lichens. Neither is fodder seen in the fodder containers nor bulbs inside the stables. No doctors, officials or other staffs of the farm are present at their quarters. The stables and the unfortunate ponies are tended by Paominthang, a muster roll employee. The ponies are kept released in the nearby villages and they have become part and parcel of the animal family of the area. The danger of contracting different diseases is not far off. Amusingly the files containing the documents related to the project have been missing in the department. Doubts have also arisen over the fund use as only 70 ponies were bought out of the 100 sanctioned. On the other hand, Vety Director Dr N Joykumar said the farm has come to such a pass due to the law and order situation, financial condition of the Government and the 90s Naga-Kuki ethnic clash. Stating the NEC had sanctioned Rs 1.2 crs for the farm, he said the death of the ponies was probed by a committee whose report was never submitted. Earlier the Govt has been giving Rs 2 lakhs per year for buying fodder but the same has been stopped in the last three years. On the revitalization of the farm, Joykumar said the Govt is considering giving a one time grant to a breeder association for the same purpose. A separate source said the project officer A Subhash has submitted a bill of Rs 1.42 lakhs as payment to one Md Abdul Gani who claims to have supplied fodder during 1999-2002.