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Field turns birds? burial ground
- 200 avian species die after eating poisoned puffed rice
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Balurghat, Jan. 5: More than 200 birds, mostly pet pigeons and domesticated hens, were found dead at Purbachal here since last night after the avian species had purportedly consumed puffed rice mixed with poison.
The mass death of birds had initially led people to suspect that avian flu had struck the area. But the animal husbandry authorities ruled out that the deaths had been caused by bird flu. The disease had killed thousands of domesticated chickens in Balurghat in the past.
The local people pointed finger at Bidhu Pahan who cultivates wheat on a small patch of land at Purbachal for the avian deaths. They said he had kept puffed rice mixed with pesticide in the field and the birds had consumed them.
The farmer fled the area after the incident.
?Nearly 200 birds and even some stray dogs and cats died between last evening and this morning. I have spoken to the residents and some of them suspect that the owner of a wheat field had spread a high dose of pesticide in a bag of puffed rice that the birds consumed and died,? said Arijit Mahanta, a former RSP councillor from the area.
?I spoke to Pahan along with the local people and the farmer admitted that he had spread pesticide on the field. He has left the area after the incident. But, we feel that he had also poisoned the puffed rice. The pigeons consumed the rice and died after they flew back to their roosts,? Mahanta said.
Apart from the pigeons and the hens, the dead birds included common mynahs also.
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- 200 avian species die after eating poisoned puffed rice
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Balurghat, Jan. 5: More than 200 birds, mostly pet pigeons and domesticated hens, were found dead at Purbachal here since last night after the avian species had purportedly consumed puffed rice mixed with poison.
The mass death of birds had initially led people to suspect that avian flu had struck the area. But the animal husbandry authorities ruled out that the deaths had been caused by bird flu. The disease had killed thousands of domesticated chickens in Balurghat in the past.
The local people pointed finger at Bidhu Pahan who cultivates wheat on a small patch of land at Purbachal for the avian deaths. They said he had kept puffed rice mixed with pesticide in the field and the birds had consumed them.
The farmer fled the area after the incident.
?Nearly 200 birds and even some stray dogs and cats died between last evening and this morning. I have spoken to the residents and some of them suspect that the owner of a wheat field had spread a high dose of pesticide in a bag of puffed rice that the birds consumed and died,? said Arijit Mahanta, a former RSP councillor from the area.
?I spoke to Pahan along with the local people and the farmer admitted that he had spread pesticide on the field. He has left the area after the incident. But, we feel that he had also poisoned the puffed rice. The pigeons consumed the rice and died after they flew back to their roosts,? Mahanta said.
Apart from the pigeons and the hens, the dead birds included common mynahs also.
...
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