By NNN-PTI
New Delhi : The Indian Government Thursday took stock of the bird flu outbreak in West Bengal following which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh directed the government to launch an awareness campaign to inform people about the disease.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar briefed the Union Cabinet on the situation, although it was not on the agenda of the meeting.
“I have been directed by the Prime Minister to give widespread publicity on the bird flu situation so we are launching a campaign immediately,” Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters after the meeting.
He said the campaign would be launched on All India Radio (AIR) as not many villages had access to television.
Dasmunsi also said that there was a delay on the part of the West Bengal government in reporting the outbreak and a timely joint initiative could have been launched earlier to control its escalation.
“It (bird flu) started on Jan 4 in some pockets of West Bengal and the attention of Centre was drawn on Jan 11,” he said.
“There was a little delay in culling of birds,” he added.
He said the state Chief Secretary has informed the Centre that at present there was no shortage of medicines or equipment to deal with the situation.
“If required, the Centre will extend all possible help,” Dasmunsi said adding that the situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat were different from that in West Bengal, where poultry farms exist in small chunks.