The numbers game continues

Manas R Banerjee & Biswabrata Goswami

KRISHNAGAR/MALDA, Jan. 31: If the sick chicken in this state that enjoy the protection of the CPI-M are not culled ~ like reported from Burdwan in these columns yesterday ~ they can prove profitable, alive or dead. Several culling teams in Nadia are reportedly under pressure from local politicians to exaggerate the number of birds killed so that more compensation can be claimed. Some members of a team culling birds in Tehatta-I block of Tehatta sub-division have lodged a complaint with the administration which is yet to take any steps against the "influential persons". "If we kill 10 birds of an affected family, we are asked to put the figure at 20 so that the families owning them can claim more compensation ~ part of which will be pocketed by village politicians,” alleged Dr Amlan Biswas (name changed), a member of the culling team. Mr Sanjay Dutta, panchayat pradhan of the Tehatta-I gram panchayat, alleged: “I had already raised the matter at a recent all-party meeting but the administration has done nothing... I have also lodged a complaint against the administrative officials for misappropriating government funds in connivance with some local leaders when tenders were floated to make arrangements for the food and accommodation of nearly 700 persons who culled birds in Tehatta-I and II blocks. Though a contractor was supposed to get Rs 30 for every meal catered, the quality of food supplied was abysmal. Also, Rs 25 was paid as the daily rent of a quilt while the corresponding market rate was as low as Rs 5,” Mr Dutta said. When contacted, Tehatta sub-divisional officer, Mr Alok Sengupta, said: “I have received complaints about irregularities but no one has lodged any specific complaint. It is also true that some members of the culling teams had been pressured by locals to inflate the number of birds killed but they did not yield to the pressure.” On the alleged defalcation, he said: “Since the virus was spreading rapidly and arrangements had to be made urgently, we had to award the contracts in a few hours' time despite the high rates." Some residents of Chanchal sub-division in Malda district are also playing the numbers game, albeit differently. Some residents of this block are taking advantage of the block's proximity to Bihar and are fetching chickens from the neighbouring state in lots, turning them over to culling teams and demanding hefty compensation. The matter came to light when officials discovered that the number of birds culled was way higher than the number of birds in the block estimated to have contracted the virus. About 85,187 backyard chickens and ducks have been culled, which is much more than the estimated 80,000 birds ~ the number calculated on the basis of Poultry Census 2003, with a 20 per cent incremental allowance. Chinmay Biswas, a veterinary doctor and supervisor of five culling teams confirmed this. Chanchal SDO Mr Debasish Sarkar said he had asked the SDPO to intensify vigil on the border with Bihar.