After a delay of one-day, around 40 animal resource development teams have started culling operations in Jalpaiguri region on Saturday.

Jalpaiguri is the 14th district to be a bird flu victim in the recent year.

Anisur Rehman, state Animal Resource Development Minister stated, “We started culling in north Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district. I have told my officials to complete the culling drive there by Sunday.”

Culling, planned to begin on Friday morning, was postponed due to lack of trained workforce and compulsory personal protective equipment.

The district management has set a target to kill over 40,000 poultry birds in Jalpaiguri Sadar and Moynaguri blocks by Sunday.

Mr. Rehman said, “Though the culling target is 40,000, the actual figure could vary. We have often seen that the rearing of poultry birds has significantly fallen in the rural farms after bird flu scare.”

The ARD teams set out for the blocks to carry out a door-to-door survey to find out the presence of backyard poultry farm.
 
District Magistrate Ramchandra Ranjit said a three-member group is coming from New Delhi to oversee the whole operation.

According to the reports around 200 people who had accomplished culling in Malda were quarantined at the district sports authority hostel as a defensive measure.

Chief Medical Officer (health) R R Banik told, “Three workers who had developed flu-like symptoms have recovered.”

The fresh bird flu eruption in Jalpaiguri, was reported on March 27 after the samples of dead chickens tested positive in the High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory (HSADL), Bhopal.

More than 100 chickens died in backyard poultry farms in Boalmari under Jalpaiguri Sadar sub-division, about 700 km from Kolkata.