Bird flu: Kerala government announces compensation

ALAPPUZHA

: Animal husbandry minister

K Raju

has said the state government would give compensation to all the farmers, who suffered loss due to the avian influenza or H5N8 in the state.

The minister said this while chairing a review meeting at the collectorate conference hall here on Wednesday. He said that a central team will reach Kerala on Thursday to assess the bird flu situation in the state.

The minister has directed the officials concerned to complete the

culling

and sanitation by Thursday.

As per the compensation announced, the government will give Rs 5 per egg. The bird that is below 60 days old will be given Rs 100 and above 60 days old will be given Rs 200.

“The culling process in the district has been completed successfully in the district till Wednesday. The 19 Rapid Response Teams(RRT) have culled 37656 birds till date in Alappuzha. At least 23857 birds perished in the district. As per the details collected by the officials, the district has lost a total of 61513 birds till date,” the minister said.

The bird flu was confirmed in Nedumudi, Thakazhi, Pallipad and

Karuvatta

grama panchayats in Alappuzha. The sanitation works at the culling places will be completed by Thursday. As per the central guidelines, the culling process is on within the 1-km radius of the four hot spots in

Kuttanad

.

The minister told the officials concerned to cull not only ducks in the affected areas but also chickens and other domestic birds within the 1-km radius of the four hot spots. The minister also directed the officials concerned to keep the accurate details of the number of culled birds and their owners. The RRTs have culled 7729 birds of a farmer in Neendoor in

Kottayam

district.

The minister said that the virus confirmed in birds here will not transmit to human beings. As there are chances for the mutation of the virus, the health officials will monitor the hot spots and adjoining places in ten days, he said.

The minister also directed the officials to tight their vigilance and prevent the spreading of the disease to other areas in the district. He also told the forest officials to check whether migratory birds die in the district. The district animal husbandry officials team have been told to collect the samples and send for examination if any bird dies in the district with the symptoms of the bird flu. The animal husbandry team will continue their monitoring for one more week after the completing of culling and sanitization.

The minister K Raju also said that the source of bird flu was probably migratory birds.

At the same time, farmers, who have lost their ducks due to bird flu in Alappuzha, have registered their strong protest against the state government’s compensation. According to them, this time the government has not made an increase in the compensation announced at the time of bird flu outbreaking in 2014 . Samuel K, a duck farmer from Pallipad, said that the expense and price of ducks have increased than in 2014. But the government has announced this time the same compensation they announced in 2014. It is not acceptable,” he said.