Fresh culling begins in Old Malda

The Malda district administration will start fresh culling operation in six villages under Old Malda block today. The area falls within the three –km radius from the epicenter- Satgharia in English Bazaar block. The Malda district magistrate has asked the animal resources development department to include the six left out villages in Old Malda just on the other side of the river Mahananda. The Malda district magistrate Mr. Sridhar Ghosh also said mopping up operation would begin in Bird Flu hit English Bazaar areas from this morning.

Poultry mortality in Bankura, Birbhum

Statesman News Service

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA/ SURI/BANKURA, Dec. 19: On a day the Union agriculture ministry issued a Press release saying that the culling at both the epicentres in West Bengal would be completed by tomorrow and that completion of sanitisation is targeted for 25 December, the death of 600 chickens over the past four days was reported in Ledason near Onda PS in Bankura district.

Animal resource department (ARD) officials today inspected the site of poultry mortality and collected samples for testing. The district administration has put the vulnerable blocks on full alert. The head of the ARD team that visited Ledason this morning, Mr Modak, said: “The symptoms may have some resemblance to Bird Flu." The district had witnessed an outbreak of Bird Flu in Saltora and Mejia blocks last year. Bankura DM Mr Sundar Majumdar said: “Onda was in the safe zone last year. Nearly 150 birds have died there.”

After Malda and Murshidabad, instance of unusual mortality of poultry birds have been reported from Birbhum's Rampurhat I and Bolpur blocks. Birbhum DM Mr Bisheswar Maity said ARD officials had sent samples of dead birds to Kolkata for tests. ARD officials insist that the birds do not display the symptoms of Bird Flu. In Dokhalbati village nearly 50 chickens died. Thirteen died in Naryanpur and 25 in Bolpur Kopai village.

The Centre today said that no fresh Bird Flu case had been reported from any part of the country, including Assam and West Bengal, even as more than Rs 1 crore has been given away as compensation to poultry farmers.

But the situation may well change because poultry birds have not been culled in a large part of Old Malda block, vulnerable to Bird Flu. The area falls within the three-km radius from the epicentre ~ Satgharia village in English Bazaar block, experts said. Malda DM Mr Sridhar Ghosh today asked the ARD to include the six left out moujas in Old Malda block in culling operations.

“Officials, responsible for earmarking areas for culling neglected to include six moujas in Old Malda block located on the other side of the Mahananda River. It was a mistake. The observer for culling operations from Kolkata, Mr Gopal Chandra Chakraborty, and two experts from NICED in Delhi spotted the mistake and advised us to include these six moujas in the Old Malda block,” the DM said today.

The deputy director of Malda ARD, Mr NK Shit said: “We did not prepare the map. Our duty is to cull birds and conduct poultry immunisation. Please speak to the DM or the land department about the lapse since they provided the map.”