By NNN-PTI,
Guwahati (Assam, India) : Assam government Saturday decided to enhance the compensation to poultry farmers whose birds were being culled and planned to set up a sample centre in the state in the wake of bird flu outbreak in nine districts of the state.
Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters here that the compensation has been raised to Rs 80 for broiler chicken, Rs 90 for local chicken and Rs 125 for ducks and the additional burden would be borne by the state government.
The state government has so far made a payment of Rs one crore (1 crore=10 million) as compensation with more than 3.70 lakh (1 lakh=100,000) birds culled and by Dec 16 more than five lakh birds would be slaughtered, Sarma said.
All birds in the area from the epicentre of the disease to a three km radius have to be culled while those beyond three km to 10 kms is under surveillance and its rearers would be provided with Rs 10 per bird daily for its feed.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at a high-level meeting held Friday night decided to set up a state-of-the-art sample centre in the state on the lines of Bhopal-based Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory as much time was lost in getting the samples tested outside the state, the minister said.
The state government would also provide interest subsidy to those poultry farmers who have taken loan for their business and there was also a plan to rehabilitate them economically under the Assam Vikash Yojana, he added.