PARADIP: Panic gripped residents of the port town after hundreds of crows were found dead in different slums and other areas on Tuesday. In the last one week, nearly 200 crows have died mysteriously in the town.On the day, a team of Veterinary officials rushed to the areas where the dead crows were found and collected samples. While locals suspect bird flu to be the reason behind deaths, officials are yet to confirm the cause.
Veterinary officials have instructed locals not to handle the dead crows without gloves. The locals, including slum dwellers, have also been advised to bury the dead crows by digging deep holes so that the disease cannot spread to other birds and more areas. Veterinary doctors ruled out any symptoms of H5N1 virus in the birds. A survey was conducted in the area over the last one week and it was found that not a single dead crow had symptoms of bird flu, officials said.
The officials also said the death of crows may be due to use of contaminated water or cold wave or poisonous effluent being released from local industries. The exact cause can be ascertained after test report of the samples is out, they added.Senior officials of Animal Husbandry department and Paradip Municipality are also taking preventive measures to check the spread of the mysterious disease.
Executive Officer of Paradip Municipality Dillip Kumar Mohanty said bleaching powder has been provided to sanitary inspectors, supervisors and zamadars to dispose of the dead crows.
Several dead birds have been already buried by municipality staff as a precautionary measure in Paradip, he added.Additional District Veterinary Officer (Disease Control) Girija Prasad Tripathy said the Animal Disease Research Institute (ADRI) at Phulanakhara in Cuttack has been requested to send an expert team to Paradip immediately to find out exact cause of the bird deaths and to suggest preventive measures to control the situation. “On Saturday, we had collected samples of 57 dead crows and sent those to ADRI. But the reports are yet to arrive,” he added.