By IANS
Kolkata : More than 200,000 poultry birds have been culled in West Bengal since Wednesday to combat bird flu even as the virus spread to six districts, casting an ominous shadow on the state’s socio-economic fabric.
While the industrial town of Asansol in Burdwan district, about 225 km from here, was the newest area to be added to the dubious list of the bird-flu hit, West Bengal Animal Resource Development Minister Anisur Rahman said there was no report of any fresh outbreak Monday.
“Asansol area is contiguous to other areas in Burdwan where the virus was confirmed, but we have till evening not heard of any fresh outbreak,” Rahman told IANS.
“We have been able to cull more than 200,000 birds by Monday evening,” he said.
The state set a target of slaughtering 400,000 poultry but with the spread of the disease to new areas, the government said at least 300,000 more birds would have to be killed.
As the spread of bird flu outpaces culling in West Bengal, the deadly virus is taking human lives even indirectly – a chicken seller committed suicide.
Reports said 28-year-old Ananda Haldar of Malda district committed suicide Sunday by jumping in front of a train. He was driven to desperation by the fall in sale of chickens.
Ananda’s mangled body was found beside the railway tracks near his home in Malda’s English Bazaar, about 350 km from here.
Ananda had not sold a single bird in the past five days and was depressed, his elder brother Prabhat said. Ananda had taken a loan of Rs.20,000 from a moneylender to stock up on broilers but the falling sales left him devastated.
Rahman told IANS that the government was ascertaining if the man committed suicide because of the economic fallout of the bird flu outbreak.
In Nadia district, about 170 km from here, a wedding was put on hold because the bride’s family rears chickens.
The parents of the groom, identified as Sabir Ali, chickened out and informed the girl’s family about their decision to postpone the wedding after poultry deaths were reported from Tehatta block in Nadia last week.
The bird flu outbreak was confirmed there after laboratory tests in Bhopal.
The teenaged girl and Sabir Ali had fallen in love a year ago and were scheduled to tie the knot Jan 24.
“The groom’s family told us to get rid of the birds and stop poultry farming. They said the marriage cannot take place now as the entire block has been infected by the virus,” said the girl’s mother.
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was spreading further in West Bengal, the animal resource development minister said.
The southern district of Bankura was the latest addition to the list of affected areas, taking to six the total number of districts in the grip of the deadly virus.
“Bird flu in Saltora block of Bankura district has been confirmed by the HSADL (High Security Animal Disease Laboratory) in Bhopal, while we have confirmation of the strain from new areas of the existing districts,” Rahman said.
“Nanoor in the worst hit Birbhum district and three more blocks – Suti I, Sagardighi and Beldanga I – have been added to the list,” he said.
“We are increasing the number of Rapid Response Teams to 400 from the existing 200 to keep pace with the spread of bird flu,” Rahman said.
The six affected districts in West Bengal are Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan and Bankura.
About 100,000 poultry deaths were reported in West Bengal in the past three weeks.
The state government has allocated Rs.30 million for compensation to those losing their poultry, Rahman said.
Farmers were being handed over tokens at culling sites and asked to contact their panchayat or village block offices for the money. The payment is Rs.40 for a country chicken, Rs.30 for a broiler and Rs.10 for a chick.
The H5N1 virus causes a type of influenza in birds that is highly contagious and can be deadly. It does not usually infect people unless they come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces.