With no fresh areas coming under the grip of bird flu, the state government on Thursday heaved a sigh of relief. Wary and worried about the impact of the avian influenza in the state’s poultry industry, the government authorities said with Bankura out of the deadly grip of the H5N1 virus and two other districts likely to be immuned soon, it will take four to five days to curb the virus menace in the state.
“The outbreak is under control. There is no report of the disease spreading to new areas,” state animal husbandry minister Anisur Rehman said after meeting chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. The state government is preparing a draft proposal as the compensation package for poultry owners to be sent to the Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar.
“The culling operation will be completed in Burdwan, Bankura and South Dinajpur districts by Thursday. We need to step up our operation in Murshidabad and Birbhum. It will take another four to five days to complete our task, Mr Rehman added. He also allayed fears of the virus reaching Kolkata in the wake of reports of the virus outbreak in Hooghly, only 19 km away from the city.
“There is no threat to Kolkata. We are keeping a close watch on the situation.” The chief minister directed the state administration to ensure the disease did not envelop Kolkata. All entry points to the city have been sealed to prevent the entry of affected birds. The deadly bird flu has led to the slaughter of over seven lakh birds in the state, affecting nine of the total 19 districts. The government has already deployed 938 teams to continue culling operation. So far, 34 blocks and four municipal areas have been hit by the disease, Mr Rehman said.
With almost half of West Bengal gripped by the deadly bird flu, state’s poultry industry says it has lost over Rs 1 billion in the past weeks owing to the spread of virus and sluggish culling operation. Moreover, the outbreak in the state has mellowed the Opposition Trinamul Congress which has shed its anti-government stridency and is extending a helping hand to the administration in its efforts to combat the deadly disease.
The Trinamul Congress, in the past, persistently refused to attend all-party meetings on industrialisation and land acquisition issues. But Mamata Banerjee’s partymen are now attending all party meetings which the various district administrations are holding to seek ways to contain the spread of the H5N1 virus. State animal resources development minister Anisur Rehman said, “We are delighted with the cooperation that the Trinamul Congress leaders are extending to the administration. They are also making valuable advises which are helping in combating the bird flu.”
He acknowledged the positive role that the Trinamul Congress leaders played in persuading the villagers, who were reluctant to hand over their chickens for culling. The Trinamul Congress state president Subrat Bakshi said, “The bird flu is a calamity and as a responsible Opposition it is our duty to shed our antipathy to the government and help the administration in containing the disease.”
Meanwhile, the state government came in for sharp criticism for failing to take timely measures to prevent the outbreak of the bird flu. People for ethical treatment of animals (Peta) claimed that the spread of H5N1 could have been prevented had the state administration taken measures to improve animal husbandry practices.
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