Reverse Migration- Community Para Vets

The need for a Para Vet: Despite the fact that the Animal Husbandry department is doing substantial work in the field of livestock extension services, the geography of the hills make it a daunting task to cater to a large section of the community due to highly dispersed habitations. The solution was simple, train the community members in basic and necessary veterinary services and place them where they are most required & help make the practice remunerative to insure viability for the service provider and the timely availability of quality services to the community members.
Kamlesh Kumar aged 28 from Village Seem in district Nainital completed his graduation from a nearby town of Haldwani and immediately moved to the nearest city Rudrapur. He started working as a salesman. The job assured him an income of Rs. 3000/- P.M. Kamlesh Kumar used to devote long working hours in the mall that he was working in. After working for three years Kamesh Kumar realized that with high rentals and cost of living in the city, despite giving his best he could barely makes his ends meet and save. Kamlesh started realizing that if he could earn a decent living in and around his home Village he could have done better and also supported his family.
One day Kamlesh came to know from his mother about the organization CHIRAG in which she was part of a Self Help Group. She informed him that the organization is looking for youths who are interested in taking up a professional course with the Animal Husbandry Department. Kamlesh took little time to decide and immediately moved back to his Village. Kamlesh got a three month training program through Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board (ULDB), followed by two months of field training. After completing his training Kamlesh started working as a paravet from 1st January 2014, with Himmottthan’s Project Partner, CHIRAG. It took him time to establish his credentials as a paravet since people were skeptical of his methods and capacity to treat animals. Even though he has treated illnesses ranging from bloating and blocked udders to diarrhea and birthing complications, the community took time to appreciate his skills.
Today Kamlesh covers18 villages; in reality, however, he actually ends up covering more than 30 villages. While he used to earn Rs 2500 every month when he started work, Kamlesh now earns between Rs 15000-18000 every month, depending on availability of work.So far, from 2014 to 2017, Kamlesh has carried out 775 artificial inseminations, of which 430 were on cows; 330 have since calved. Similarly, of the 345artificial inseminations on buffaloes, 180 have conceived. A small aspect of his growing popularity and competence is reflected in his growing income: in 2016, his gross income was approximately Rs 1,80,000.