Bird flu scare hits poultry market in Ludhiana

LUDHIANA: Punjab''s poultry farmers have yet to see the worse season than this winter. The bird flu scare in India has lead to not only a downfall in the sales, but also a great slash in the prices, indicate the market leaders.
However, the experts say the scare is unnecessary and based on nothing more than rumours, irresponsibly spread by the media in some parts of the country.
Natin Kaushik, the Punjab area sales manager for Mansarovar Hatcheries, Haryana says the Bird Flu first arrived in Pakistan in 1992, and has not affected India so far, so there is no reason to panic now.
Ajit Singh, Chief Executive, National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC) at Chandigarh proclaimed there is not even a single case of bird flu in India so far. He said the scare has unfortunately had an impact on India merely because the country stands in Pakistan''s neighbourhood.
Dr S P Singh a poultry expert and veterinarian working with eight laboratories of the Venkateshwar Rai Hatcheries of Chandigarh, said his company had got a complete survey done in early 1990s, right after the first break out in Pakistan.
Dr Singh explained that in fact bird flu, when tested was found to be not a zoonotic disease that is it does not spread to human beings. He said it has failed to spread into human beings even in Pakistan, where the disease existed. He added that the scare created in India thus has been unfortunate and has created unnecessary anxiety in the region, especially in bordering states like Punjab.
Kaushik informed that while chicken and egg were selling, it was going at a much lower rate than it should go in the season. He explained that it takes a lot more investment in terms of heat provided in the hatcheries during winters to produce the same egg.
Moreover, it usually also compensates for the lower than feasible price sales in summers. He said unfortunately with the bird flu scare now, the egg prices had been slashed down. There is production of 80 lakh eggs per day in Punjab, of which 60 per cent usually is consumed with in the state.
The eggs though usually are shelved between Rs. 150 to 180 in this season, are now going for anything between Rs 102 to Rs 135 this year, informed chief executive, NECC. He explained that Amritsar Poultry Farmer’s Chicken and Egg mela on Thursday was merely to shoo away this scare.
Kaushik said if any human being has to be scared, it should be the poultry farmer. If no poultry farmer has fallen sick in the past month or two, then why are the rest of the customers being put into a delusion about its consumption, he pointed out.