Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), Dec 20 : Fulbari Bird Sanctuary in Jalpaiguri District of West Bengal is playing host to hundreds of migratory birds flocking the reserve during winters.

"These birds arrive from far off places. We watch them when they are here. Foreigners who visit this sanctuary also love watching them," said Sanatan Majhi, a resident.

Bird lovers from across the country visit these sanctuaries to get a glimpse of some of the rare species of birds in the world.

The West Bengal government said that the culling operations in bird flu-hit Malda are almost over.

According to a senior district officer, over 16,000 chickens have been killed in Malda district.

While giving this information to the media persons, District magistrate Sreedhar Ghosh said that 16,963 poultry have been culled out of the target of 25,000 in English Bazar block of the district.

Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (WB), Dec 18 : The annual tiger census for the year 2008-09 in West Bengal began from Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (MLS) on the foothills of Himalayas in Darjeeling today.

The census is being carried out every year in parts of Bengal to get a figure of the number of tigers residing in the area.

India has lost over 50 per cent of its tiger population in the past five years with the numbers dwindling to 1,411 from 3,642 in 2001-02, according to the latest tiger census report released early this year.

As per this report North Bengal is left with only 10 tigers as against 349 earlier.

Malda (WB) Dec 16 : Outbreak of bird flu has been reported at English Bazar in Malda district of West Bengal.

According to District Magistrate Sridhar Ghosh, the high risk disease detection laboratory of Bhopal has confirmed this after examining blood samples of dead chicken.

"The culling operations in the area will begin after issuance of formal notification," he added.

Authorities have asked people to refrain from sale, purchase and eating of poultry products. The move follows the death of more than 1,000 chicken in five villages under Narhatta Gram Panchayat in Malda district.

The chairman of Ruia Group, Pawan Kumar Ruia met Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to discuss the issue of Dunlop factory closure in Sahagunj, West Bengal. Ruia group had suspended the work at the unit on November 30, amid political and workforce opposition. It has been demanding a loan of Rs 100 crore from the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBDIC) but the government has yet to respond.