By IANS
Madurai : Over 3,000 chickens were found dead in a ditch in Tamil Nadu Tuesday though authorities ruled out bird flu as the cause of death.
The dead chickens were found in Theni district, 30 km west of here. Fearing an epidemic, the district administration burnt the carcasses.
“There is no indication of bird flu at all. The district administration is investigating the incident to find out as to who left the birds in the ditch and why,” a government spokesman said.
Theni is 120 km west of Karur, the poultry centre of Tamil Nadu.
Theni borders the Andippatti assembly constituency of Leader of Opposition and AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa. It is also a favourite spot for film producers for its sylvan locales for shooting.
In the third avian influenza outbreak in India in recent years, the H5N1 virus was confirmed in West Bengal this month and massive culling operations were being conducted to contain its spread.