By Xinhua
Kathmandu : Nepal Monday banned imports of poultry products from India following the outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal just across the border.
The daily import of poultry and eggs through Sunsari custom office, and Devanjang, Ghantabari, Laukahi, Kusaha, Magadhwa and other entry points have been banned, Rajesh Ghimire, border security director, was quoted as saying by Nepali website eKantipur.com.
Nepal every day imports poultry products worth $8,064 (500,000 Nepali rupees) from eastern India’s Bihar state.
Nepal also has put on high alert the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in eastern part of the country, some 200 km from Kathmandu.
An official of the reserve, Rabin Ghimire, said that the alert was necessary as hundreds of birds from India migrate to the reserve during the season.
An earlier report said that the threat of bird flu spreading in Jhapa district in eastern Nepal have increased after avian influenza cases were detected in Dinajpur and Birbhum areas of West Bengal in India.
According to the RSS news agency, experts said the threat is more real due to the open border between Nepal and India.
Acting Chief at Kakkarvita Quarantine Post Kaushalendra Jha said more caution is needed to prevent the spread of the bird flu from West Bengal to eastern Nepal.
He said bird flu cases have been reported Sunday by Indian media in Siliguri as well. Siliguri is just 50 km far from the Nepal border.
Jha said all border check-posts, police posts and border security personnel have been ordered by the district administration office to strictly ban the entry of birds and animal products from India to check the spread of disease to Nepal.
He also said the 30 poultry farms located in the district, some 320 km east of Kathmandu, were also cautioned about the disease.
Meanwhile, animal quarantine check post buried 1,050 white eggs, which were seized during the past two days while being illegally brought into Nepal, the RSS said.