By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
After the death of 14 horses and mules following suspected infection, these animals will not be available for 24 hours in the Kedarnath pilgrimage in Uttarakhand.
After receiving the information about the death of horses and mules in Kedarnath area, the state’s Animal Husbandry Secretary Dr BVR Purushottam rushed to Rudraprayag and reviewed the situation with the district administration on Monday night. He later said that horses and mules have been banned from participating in the Yatra for 24 hours.
In this regard, Purushottam said eight horses and mules died on Sunday and six on Monday. Stating that the cause of the death was not equine influenza, he said the prima it could be some bacterial infection.
However, he said that teams of veterinary doctors especially from Hisar in Haryana are coming to investigate the reasons behind the death of horses and mules.
The IAS officer said if any horse shows symptoms like runny nose, then its RTPCR test will be done and it will be kept in the quarantine center. He said that only if its report comes negative, it will be allowed to operate in the Yatra.
Purushottam said that a month ago on April 4, symptoms of equine influenza were found in horses, after which a record 16 thousand horses were screened in 26 days till April 30.
He said that out of these, sero samples of 152 horses and mules were found positive in the test but their RTPCR tests were found negative.
To reach Kedarnath Dham, situated at an altitude of 3583 meter, one has to cover a distance of about 16 kilometers on foot. However, to cover this hilly track, some devotees also have to take the help of palanquins, horses and mules.