Re: India - Bird Flu in Poultry/Animals Jan 21+
WB govt to contain bird flu spread
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080039139&ch=1/21/2008 8:52:00 PM#
Monideepa Banerjie, Joydeep Sengupta
Monday, January 21, 2008 (Bankura)
Saltora in Bankura district is the sixth one to have been declared hit by the bird flu so far.
At this house, several chicken have died and only a handful are left. And there are so signs of the cullers as yet.
The situation in Birbhum where bird flu was first detected is not very different.
At ground zero of the outbreak Birbhum district it's chaos.
Members of the Rapid Response Team responsible for killing poultry in affected areas as quickly as possible, completely lack any experience.
No wonder they are lagging behind.
''We have just got theatrical training. I have never really culled a chicken before. It is not possible to cull four lakh birds with this infrastructure. I am 52 years old. I am a heart patient. For me, it is extremely difficult,'' said Dilip Sarkar, Member, Rapid Response Team.
''I'm not trained. I heard that people were being hired at the BDO office and I joined in. It's difficult to do this without training,'' said Amir Sheikh, Member, Rapid Response Team.
It's an on-the-ground reality that sharply contradicts, the claims of the West Bengal government that everything is under control.
The government had planned to deploy 400 culling teams headed by a veterinary doctor each to kill 20 lakh chicken across the state in the next seven days.
But the sixth day into the operation there are still not enough hands at work. There are only 154 teams at work.
''This is the first time bird flu has the hit this area. Each family has two to three poultries. It is very difficult to cull all the chicken,'' said Anisur Rehman, Animal Resource Minister, WB.
What's also affecting the pace of the operation is the anger and fear among villagers who have neither been extended on-the-spot payment for their poultry nor preventive medicines.
In panic that they may lose their source of income, two farmers have committed suicide.
Many others are refusing to reveal the actual number of birds they have.
''I didn't know that they will come here today. We had been living in fear that they will come to my village any day. The health officials didn't give us any medicine. We're anxious to know when we will get the compensation. We are not satisfied,'' said Nishir Let, Resident, Gobindapur Village.
Even the basic awareness drive has failed to take off in these villages.
''People are still eating chicken here. They are not aware of bird flu. Most of them are illiterate. The government has failed make spread awareness,'' said Rohid Biswas, Resident, Margram Village.
As the flu spreads, is this yet another classic case of government inefficiency?
When the bird flu broke the government was caught completely off guard, even though many say there were early warnings indicating an epidemic at hand.
Now, right in the middle of the outbreak the government finds itself grappling with a huge shortage of veterinary doctors and skilled field force compounding the crisis.
WB govt to contain bird flu spread
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080039139&ch=1/21/2008 8:52:00 PM#
Monideepa Banerjie, Joydeep Sengupta
Monday, January 21, 2008 (Bankura)
Saltora in Bankura district is the sixth one to have been declared hit by the bird flu so far.
At this house, several chicken have died and only a handful are left. And there are so signs of the cullers as yet.
The situation in Birbhum where bird flu was first detected is not very different.
At ground zero of the outbreak Birbhum district it's chaos.
Members of the Rapid Response Team responsible for killing poultry in affected areas as quickly as possible, completely lack any experience.
No wonder they are lagging behind.
''We have just got theatrical training. I have never really culled a chicken before. It is not possible to cull four lakh birds with this infrastructure. I am 52 years old. I am a heart patient. For me, it is extremely difficult,'' said Dilip Sarkar, Member, Rapid Response Team.
''I'm not trained. I heard that people were being hired at the BDO office and I joined in. It's difficult to do this without training,'' said Amir Sheikh, Member, Rapid Response Team.
It's an on-the-ground reality that sharply contradicts, the claims of the West Bengal government that everything is under control.
The government had planned to deploy 400 culling teams headed by a veterinary doctor each to kill 20 lakh chicken across the state in the next seven days.
But the sixth day into the operation there are still not enough hands at work. There are only 154 teams at work.
''This is the first time bird flu has the hit this area. Each family has two to three poultries. It is very difficult to cull all the chicken,'' said Anisur Rehman, Animal Resource Minister, WB.
What's also affecting the pace of the operation is the anger and fear among villagers who have neither been extended on-the-spot payment for their poultry nor preventive medicines.
In panic that they may lose their source of income, two farmers have committed suicide.
Many others are refusing to reveal the actual number of birds they have.
''I didn't know that they will come here today. We had been living in fear that they will come to my village any day. The health officials didn't give us any medicine. We're anxious to know when we will get the compensation. We are not satisfied,'' said Nishir Let, Resident, Gobindapur Village.
Even the basic awareness drive has failed to take off in these villages.
''People are still eating chicken here. They are not aware of bird flu. Most of them are illiterate. The government has failed make spread awareness,'' said Rohid Biswas, Resident, Margram Village.
As the flu spreads, is this yet another classic case of government inefficiency?
When the bird flu broke the government was caught completely off guard, even though many say there were early warnings indicating an epidemic at hand.
Now, right in the middle of the outbreak the government finds itself grappling with a huge shortage of veterinary doctors and skilled field force compounding the crisis.
