Death from eating parotta; five cows dead due to overfeeding of porotta and jackfruit
KOLLAM: Five cows died in Velinallur in Kollam due to overfeeding of porotta. The dead cows are from the farm of Hasbullah, a native of Vattappara, Velinalloor.
Nine cows are in poor condition. There were 30 cows, two bulls and two buffaloes on the farm. Porotta was given to animals other than bull and buffalo. Other cows do not have much problem and are under observation.
The cows were fed porotta on Saturday morning following which they collapsed. The first cow died at 4 pm and the others at 8 am yesterday. The cows had bloated stomachs. Porotta, lentils, jackfruit, tamarind seeds etc. were fed to the cows due to the high cost of fodder.
Hasbulla is the one who usually feeds the cows. However, the person who replaced him on Saturday added too much porotta and jackfruit to the feed without knowing the quantity.
An emergency response team from the District Veterinary Center treated comprising veterinary surgeons G Manoj, K Malini and MJ Sethulakshmi under the leadership of District Animal Protection Officer Dr D Shinekumar conducted the post-mortem of the dead cows and treated the sick cows. Doctors attributed the cause of death to gas in stomach and subsequent acid poisoning and dehydration. Chief Veterinary Officer Dr D Shinekumar said that excessive ingestion of jackfruit, porotta and kanji in cows can lead to lactic acidosis, followed by dehydration and death.
Minister J Chinchu Rani, who visited the farm, said that farmers will be educated about what to feed the cows. The minister also clarified that steps will be taken to compensate the farmer who lost his cows.
Porotta the villain
- Porotta is made with ghee and saturated fats
- This can cause digestive problems in cows
- Finely ground flour has less fibre
- It ferments in the stomach and causes acid poisoning
- Old Porotta is also more prone to fungal infections