AVIAN FLU

Centre for poultry-free Bangla border

Anindita Chowdhury 
KOLKATA, March 14: The Centre has proposed that areas within 5 kms from the international border with Bangladesh, will be kept poultry-free, in a strategy to prevent avian influenza from flaring up in border states like Assam and West Bengal. 

Authorities suspect that the H5NI virus which afflicted the backyard poultry in the state, last year as well as this year, had its origin in Bangladesh. 

The Centre has proposed that areas within 5 km from the international border will be designated as zone I and kept poultry free to prevent flaring up of avian flu in states bordering Bangladesh. 

Areas within five to 10 km will be designated as zone II. In this zone the Union Agriculture Ministry has proposed that integrated companies will be asked to develop and demonstrate a "secure model of poultry rearing " before the local population. These integrated companies will distribute chicks among the local populace and ensure sanitised conditions and will buy back the reared birds at a later stage. 

This will make poultry rearing much more remunerative and prevent bird flu in unorganised sector, feels officials of the department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries of government of India. 

The Centre has also asked the state animal resources department to identify areas and the poultry population in these areas along the international border to implement the strategy. 
According to the 2006 animal census conducted by state ARD department, the existing poultry population in zone I is more than 47 lakhs and in case of zone II is more than 52 lakhs.  

The Centre has proposed that initially this should be taken up in a small area and then it can be introduced in the rest of the border areas in a phased manner. 

However, in recent pasts it has been seen that owners of backyard poultry defying culling orders or ban on transportation after outbreak of bird flu in neighbouring areas even after awareness drive. Hence, state government officials are skeptical about implementation of the strategy, particularly about keeping Zone I free of backyard poultry. (THE STATESMAN)