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Poultry sales crash 30% in Lucknow on the back of bird flu scare
Despite a crash in prices, many people have stopped buying chicken because they do not want to take a risk with bird flu.
The bird flu scare has hit parts of the Uttar Pradesh capital with chicken and egg sellers complaining of drop in sales by about 30%.
Bird flu cases have been reported in Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Dilshad Qureshi, a chicken seller at Udaiganj, Lucknow said, “Sales have dropped considerably despite dip in rates. Chicken is now selling at Rs 140 per kg. It was Rs 180 to Rs 200 per kg last week.”
Manjeet Singh, wholesaler of eggs in Alambagh said, “Sale of eggs has also dropped by about 20%. In Lucknow, around 2.5 to 3 lakh eggs are sold daily but according to our reports the sale has dropped to just 2 lakh eggs daily.”
Meanwhile, the animal husbandry department has divided Lucknow into nine blocks -- Chinhat, Bakshi Ka Talab, Mal, Malihabad, Kakori, Sarojini Nagar, Mohanlalganj, Gosainganj and Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) areas -- to keep an eye on the health of birds being sold in the markets, said nodal officer of the department Dr Tej Singh Yadav.
“All inspectors of the animal husbandry department, working at grass roots level, have started contacting chicken sellers to apprise them about the symptoms of bird flu in chickens. The bird starts dying after turning purple in case of bird flu. If the birds are turning purple after death or before death the vendors can call toll free number 18001805141 and a team of animal husbandry department will reach them immediately,” Yadav said.
He also said: “The animal husbandry department has written to the forest department to keep an eye on the birds in the forest area, especially crows, sparrows, pigeons, peacocks, etc. These birds also can die due to bird flu.”
The chief medical officer (CMO), Lucknow has also been alerted for possible spread of bird flu and asked to store Tamiflu in abundance.
The zila panchayat department and police have also been intimated about the possibility of the spread of bird flu.
Joint director, animal welfare, LMC Dr Arvind Kumar Rao, said, “We are going to follow all orders of the animal husbandry department. We are in touch with each other and have already started an awareness programme with bird sellers so that they can maintain cleanliness and keep their birds away from any sort of infection.”
Dr Yadav has appealed to people not to panic. “They can eat chicken and eggs without any fear. The meat must be properly cooked and eggs properly boiled. People must avoid taking raw egg or meat,” he said.
