By IANS
Agartala : The Tripura government has sounded an alert following the outbreak of bird flu in three districts of West Bengal and banned poultry imports from there.
Though there was no report of any poultry or bird death from anywhere in Tripura, authorities were being extra cautious in the northeastern state, which shares an 856 km international border with Bangladesh.
Jyotirmoy Roy, nodal officer of the bird flu control cell of the state’s Animal Resource Development Department, told IANS: “There were reports of bird flu cases in 20 districts of Bangladesh.”
He said the state government has asked the Border Security Force (BSF) to remain on maximum alert to check the smuggling of poultry products from Bangladesh.
“The state government has also asked poultry farmers not to import any poultry items from West Bengal,” Roy said.
“More than 70 Rapid Response Teams (RRT) have been fanned out all over the state to maintain a close vigil over the 6,000 poultry firms and other poultry business centres,” said.
As a precautionary measure, blood samples are being sent regularly to various national laboratories for testing.
The state government has also undertaken a massive awareness campaign about the symptoms of the viral disease.
As the news about the deadly avian flu spread, the demand and prices for chickens dropped in markets across the state.
The state forest department has also asked its officials to keep a watch on Tripura’s 10 big water bodies where migratory birds from India and abroad are currently breeding.