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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleheader>Tripura red alert over bird flu
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleauthor>OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT</TD></TR><TR><TD class=story align=left>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleauthor>OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT</TD></TR><TR><TD class=story align=left>
Agartala, Aug. 4: The Tripura government has sounded a red alert on avian influenza in the state and asked the BSF to keep vigil along the 856-km-long porous border with Bangladesh, where bird flu cases have been reported. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting last night.
Tripura animal resources minister Pranab Debbarma said although no cases of bird flu have been reported in the state, precautionary measures have been taken to check the spread of the disease. Strong vigil is being maintained on trucks and vehicles entering the state from Bangladesh, he added. ?Measures have been taken to spray medicines on trucks coming from Bangladesh?.
The state has formed 71 rapid response groups to tackle any cases of flu. A state-level emergency committee on avian influenza, headed by chief secretary Shashi Prakash, has also been formed to monitor the situation.
The panic heightened after Divyoday Krishi Vigyan Kendra, a central government- funded farm at Chebri in Khowai subdivision of West Tripura, slaughtered and buried more than 500 chickens with symptoms like fever and spasms on Thursday.
?We ordered mass slaughter of the chickens because we were against taking any chance. Blood samples of the dead fowl have been sent to the central laboratory in Bhopal,? said Nandalal Dasgupta, the director of the centre.
A ban has been imposed on the entry and sale of chickens within a 10-km radius of the centre. Emergency phone numbers for help to poultry farmers have been notified in all four districts of the state.
Manipur mop-up
The Manipur veterinary department today used the police to stem trouble while conducting mopping-up operations in bird flu affected Imphal East and Imphal West districts, reports our Imphal correspondent. The cleaning up operations began yesterday after veterinary workers finished culling poultry within a 5-km radius of the affected farm at Chingmeirong in Imphal East. The culling operations had begun on July 26.
?Today we used the police to prevent any trouble between poultry owners and the rapid response team members, who are carrying out the operation,? a senior official in the state veterinary department said.
The officials are expecting resistance from poultry owners in killing chicken left out during the culling operation, after the government decided not to pay compensation for poultry killed during the mop-up operation.
The control room in the veterinary department said 3.31 lakh birds had been culled till now. More than 28,000 eggs and 23,150 kg of chickenfeed were destroyed during the culling operation. Thirty poultry were killed in yesterday?s cleaning up operation.
The government paid Rs 10 to Rs 40 as spot compensation during the culling operation. However, it decided not to pay compensation for those killed during the cleaning up operation because they were kept hidden during the culling operation.
?We received information that a large number of poultry smuggled out of the 5-km affected zone returned after the culling operation. We have decided not to pay for the chickens killed since yesterday. So we are apprehending trouble during the cleaning up,? the official said.
The veterinary department, however, clarified that there was no report of any trouble so far.
The owners of domesticated pigeons are also not killing the birds as instructed by the department, officials said.
The ban on movement of poultry within a 10km radius of the affected farm would continue for at least three months.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Tripura animal resources minister Pranab Debbarma said although no cases of bird flu have been reported in the state, precautionary measures have been taken to check the spread of the disease. Strong vigil is being maintained on trucks and vehicles entering the state from Bangladesh, he added. ?Measures have been taken to spray medicines on trucks coming from Bangladesh?.
The state has formed 71 rapid response groups to tackle any cases of flu. A state-level emergency committee on avian influenza, headed by chief secretary Shashi Prakash, has also been formed to monitor the situation.
The panic heightened after Divyoday Krishi Vigyan Kendra, a central government- funded farm at Chebri in Khowai subdivision of West Tripura, slaughtered and buried more than 500 chickens with symptoms like fever and spasms on Thursday.
?We ordered mass slaughter of the chickens because we were against taking any chance. Blood samples of the dead fowl have been sent to the central laboratory in Bhopal,? said Nandalal Dasgupta, the director of the centre.
A ban has been imposed on the entry and sale of chickens within a 10-km radius of the centre. Emergency phone numbers for help to poultry farmers have been notified in all four districts of the state.
Manipur mop-up
The Manipur veterinary department today used the police to stem trouble while conducting mopping-up operations in bird flu affected Imphal East and Imphal West districts, reports our Imphal correspondent. The cleaning up operations began yesterday after veterinary workers finished culling poultry within a 5-km radius of the affected farm at Chingmeirong in Imphal East. The culling operations had begun on July 26.
?Today we used the police to prevent any trouble between poultry owners and the rapid response team members, who are carrying out the operation,? a senior official in the state veterinary department said.
The officials are expecting resistance from poultry owners in killing chicken left out during the culling operation, after the government decided not to pay compensation for poultry killed during the mop-up operation.
The control room in the veterinary department said 3.31 lakh birds had been culled till now. More than 28,000 eggs and 23,150 kg of chickenfeed were destroyed during the culling operation. Thirty poultry were killed in yesterday?s cleaning up operation.
The government paid Rs 10 to Rs 40 as spot compensation during the culling operation. However, it decided not to pay compensation for those killed during the cleaning up operation because they were kept hidden during the culling operation.
?We received information that a large number of poultry smuggled out of the 5-km affected zone returned after the culling operation. We have decided not to pay for the chickens killed since yesterday. So we are apprehending trouble during the cleaning up,? the official said.
The veterinary department, however, clarified that there was no report of any trouble so far.
The owners of domesticated pigeons are also not killing the birds as instructed by the department, officials said.
The ban on movement of poultry within a 10km radius of the affected farm would continue for at least three months.
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