Bird flu: 12 states confirm infection; after Shikhar Dhawan pic, trouble for boatmen who allowed feeding birds

The Centre on Sunday confirmed bird flu in nine states for poultry birds, reported ANI.  “Till 24th January, 2021 outbreaks of Avian Influenza (bird flu) have been confirmed in 9 States (Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab) for poultry birds,” ANI quoted a statement by Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

The flu has been confirmed in 12 states so far –– Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab –– for crow, migratory or wild birds.

“However, crow/pigeon samples submitted from Rudraprayag, Lansdowne Forest Range and Paudi Forest Range of Uttarakhand; pigeon samples from Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan; crow and peacock samples from Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh have been found negative for Avian Influenza,” the statement said.

Action to taken against Varanasi boatmen for allowing tourists to feed birds during boat-ride

Varanasi district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma has said action will be taken against the boatmen who did not follow the guidelines laid down by the administration and allowed tourists on their boats to feed the birds amid flu, reported ANI. The action comes after a photo shared on social media by cricketer Shikhar Dhawan in which he was seen feeding birds during a boat ride in Varanasi amid bird flu raised concerns among netizens.

Posting the picture, Dhawan wrote: “Happiness is feeding birds.”

 

Rajasthan: Bird flu confirmed in 17 districts

Avian Influenza (bird flu) has been confirmed in 17 districts of Rajasthan. According to the state’s animal husbandry department, a total of 6,595 birds have been found dead in the state between December 25, 2020, and January 24, 2021

Gir Somnath became the fourth district in Gujarat to be affected by bird flu after samples of indigenous chicken kept at a farm at Dolasa village tested positive for avian influenza. Culling operation started in and around Dolasa village Saturday, officers said.

Dr S N Vaghasiya, Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry at the district animal disease investigation unit in Junagadh, confirmed to The Sunday Express that samples collected from the farm of one Bhavesh Chudasama in Dolasa village of Una taluka of Gir Somnath on January 11 have returned positive of the avian influenza.

While Ajay Prakash, District Collector of Gir Somnath could not be reached for comments, J M Rava, Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Una said that a containment zone had been declared in and around Dolasa village. “The home branch in the office of district collector has issued a notification declaring a containment zone after the report of presence of bird flu in the area,” Raval told The Sunday Express.