BIRD FLU

Bird flu : Culling drive begins

 

COOCH BEHAR, Feb.1: The district administration of Cooch Behar ordered culling of backyard birds from this evening in the affected villages – Uttar Dangkoba and Nagar Bhangni. As the chickens and ducks come back to their shelters at the evening it is the better time to get them for the culling, animal resource development (ARD) department sources said.

 

Deputy director of the ARD department in Cooch Behar, Dr Tapan Kumar Roy said they will engage thirty teams consisting of five members in each team for the scheduled three-day culling drive that to begin from tomorrow. Today's drive is an additional one considering the graveness of the situation. The culling teams are to kill about 45,000 chickens and ducks during the drive, he said.

 

Yesterday, the district magistrate of Cooch Behar Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha has declared Cooch Behar a bird flu affected district following recent reports of unnatural death of numerous backyard birds in different areas in the district.

 

The scheduled culling drive would begin from Monday at Nagar Bhangni village in Dinhata sub-division and Uttar Dangkoba village under Pachagarh gram panchayat in Mathabhanga sub-division.

 

Meanwhile, the BSF was alerted to beef up vigil along the Indo-Bangladesh border. The border has been sealed to stop transportation (incoming and outgoing) of chickens and ducks, according to the DM.

 

Also, prohibiting trading and transportation of chickens in ten-kilometre radius of the affected areas a order was issued but trading is still going on violating that order.

 

Cooch Behar declared avian influenza affected district for the second time because the chickens suddenly started dying at Nagar Bhangni and Uttar Dangkoba villages. Blood samples were sent to Kolkata and then to Bhopal laboratories. As the samples tested bird flu positive the district administration convened an urgent meeting yesterday and after reviewing the situation the district was declared bird flu affected one. []

 

Workshop for school inspectors

 

COOCH BEHAR, Feb.1: A three-day interactive workshop to better the performance of the inspectors of primary and Madhyamik schools began at District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) in Cooch Behar today.

 

Chairman of District Primary School Council (DPSC) Mr Nuruddin Mian inaugurated the programme while DIET principal Ms Mira Lama presided over it. Deputy directors of schools (primary and Madhyamik) Mr Debashis Sarkar and Mr Manoranjan Roy attended the inaugural programme. Representatives from different organisations of teachers too attended the programme.

 

The aim of the workshop is to equip the inspectors of the schools with better inspection skills to make the inspection system a good one for improvement of education scenario. Earlier, similar workshop was held in 2006.

 

In his inaugural address the DPSC chairman Mr Nuruddin Mian admitted that they failed to bring all the children under primary school education system but it should be done at any cost. He also said that 80 primary schools were uplifted to upper-primary ones in last year and 20 in this year. Upgrading of the remaining ones would be done soon. []

Meeting to review schemes

 

COOCH BEHAR, Feb.1: As the current fiscal year is going to end on 31 March, a review of the ongoing development schemes in Cooch Behar district is needed. To study the progress of the schemes a meeting will be held on 6 February. Officials of all executive agencies and government departments like public health engineering, forest, irrigation and the block development officers, sabhapatis of the Panchayat Samitis and chairmans of the civic bodies are to attend the meeting, according to the district planning officer Mr Sunil Agarwala.

 

Review will be made scheme wise to identify the shortcomings for why completion of those has been delayed. Emphasis will be given to chalk out ways so that those may be completed by ending of March. []