Bengal chickens land in UP

LUCKNOW: In a shocking lapse on the part of authorities in both Railways and the West Bengal government, over 2,500 chickens were transported from the eastern state into UP on Monday, sending alarm bells ringing within Lucknow's administrative machinery. Fortuitously, the UP officials decided to err on the side of caution and culled the chickens without even testing them for flu on Wednesday.
On Monday night, UP home secretary Mahesh Kumar Gupta had shot off letters to DMs and police chiefs stating that more than 2,500 chicken booked from Bardhman, West Bengal, on Vibhuti Express were offloaded on January 26 at Varanasi.The consignment was then sent to Shahjahanpur by the person who had received the chicken in Varanasi, the letter said.
Copies of the letter were sent to the GM of North-Eastern Railway, divisional railway managers of Northern Railway, NE Railway and North-Central Railway informing them about the alarming news and a directive to ensure that no poultry product booked from West Bengal and adjoining states be unloaded in UP.
The person who offloaded the birds at Varanasi was located in Shahjahanpur after the home secretary's letters to officials. Soon, veterinary doctors from the animal husbandry department reached the spot and culled the chicken, said principal secretary animal husbandry R M Srivastava.