Dead crows in dozens at Mayur Vihar park spark panic, some more found in Dwarka

While officials of the municipal corporation and residents of Mayur Vihar Phase 3 said about 150 crows had died in the past three or four days, the Delhi government said the number of birds found dead at the three places was below 50.

Carcasses of dozens of crows have been found in east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar and in Dwarka as well as Hastsal in west Delhi over the past few days, triggering fears of a bird flu outbreak in the national capital similar to the one that has affected at least four other states in the country.

Four samples were collected for testing from among these carcasses.

While officials of the municipal corporation and residents of Mayur Vihar Phase 3 said about 150 crows had died in the past three or four days, the Delhi government said the number of birds found dead at the three places was below 50.

On Friday morning, after receiving reports of crow carcasses being found in Mayur Vihar Phase 3, a team of doctors from Delhi government’s animal husbandry department reached A-2 Central Park and collected samples to check if the deaths were caused by the cold or due to avian flu. The test report is expected on Monday.

The Delhi government in a statement said deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia sent officials immediately to the spot in Mayur Vihar and the team found 17 dead crows in the park. Four samples were collected for testing from among these carcasses.

But a senior official of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), which manages the park, on the condition of anonymity, said, “Nearly 150 crows have died over the past three days in the Central Park. As this is a matter pertaining to the Delhi government’s animal husbandry department, we informed the authorities concerned. A team of doctors from the animal husbandry department inspected the park and collected samples of dead birds,” the EDMC official said.

HT visited the Central Park on Friday evening and found carcasses of at least four to five crows there. According to residents, the other carcasses were removed on Friday morning but those found in the evening could be from fresh deaths.

As news about the bird deaths spread, there was panic among residents and shopkeepers.

“Crows are dying and falling off trees for the past four days but the authorities are not paying heed. We had raised the issue with the civic body employees deployed at the park two days ago but action was taken only today (Friday). We fear that it may be an outbreak of bird flu, which has already been reported in other states,” Devendra Kumar, a resident of A-2 block in Mayur Vihar-3, said.

Another resident of the area, Dinesh Pratap Singh, said the death of such a huge numbers of crows was frightening. “This mysterious death of crows indicates the presence of bird flu in the city. At least 150 crows have died in the past four-five days. We have stopped going for walks in the park,” Singh said.

Traders in the market said in the previous years, there were sporadic cases of birds dying due to the cold. “But crows dying in such large numbers is new. The government officials should check if crows are dying due to bird flu. We don’t know how this disease spreads, and so there is panic among the residents. We are not ready to face another virus or pandemic,” Viru Gupta, who runs a garment shop in the market, said.

The Delhi government in a statement on Friday said as part of the exercise to prevent the ingress of avian influenza to the capital, multiple samples have been collected and sent for tests. The collected samples have been submitted to the laboratory in Palam and these will send to the National Institute of High Security Animal Disease, ICAR, Bhopal, on January 9.

“All remaining carcasses were disposed of by deep burial following bio security measures and the area was sanitised. Instructions were also given to attendants of the park to report further mortality of birds, if any. Two crows were found dead at a DDA Park in Dwarka and one sample was collected from there for tests,” a government spokesperson said, adding that at DDA park in Hastsal village reported 16 dead birds. Of this, four samples have been sent to the Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Jalandhar, for tests.

Dr Rakesh Singh, animal husbandry department, said until Friday, a total of 104 samples were sent from Delhi to Jalandhar. Five more samples have been collected by the department which will be sent to the laboratory in Bhopal on Saturday.

“Of the 104 samples that have been sent already, 100 are faecal and blood samples and four are dead crows. Of the five samples that will be sent on Saturday to Bhopal, one will be an oral swab and the remaining four are dead birds,” he said.

Dr Singh said the first set of results will come by Monday. “Actions like restricting the number of trucks and regulating shops will be taken only if a bird flu outbreak is confirmed. The results of the samples will start coming from Monday. As of now, Delhi has no case of bird flu,” he said.