MALKANGIRI: Fuel shortage coupled with power outage allegedly led to the death of more than 5,300 chickens in an environment-controlled poultry farm at Mundaguda in Malkangiri town on Saturday night.
According to poultry farm owner Manoj Kumar Padhi, electricity supply to his poultry unit was disrupted after the transformer developed a technical fault. Although the farm had a DG backup system, Padhi alleged that he could not procure diesel despite repeated attempts over the past three days.
The farm owner claimed he tried to arrange 30 litres of diesel to run the generator but failed due to the prevailing fuel shortage in the district. He further alleged that fuel stations refused to provide diesel in containers or barrels required for operating the DG set.
“I ran from one filling station to another searching for just a few litres of diesel, but had to return empty-handed. Without electricity, the environment-controlled sheds turned extremely hot. Ventilation stopped completely and the chickens started dying rapidly,” he said.
Within nearly three hours of the outage, around 5,300 chickens died due to suffocation and extreme heat inside the enclosed poultry sheds, Padhi claimed.
The dead birds are estimated to weigh around 12.5 tonnes, while the financial loss has been pegged at nearly Rs 15 lakh. “I have no idea how I will ever recover from this massive financial blow,” rued the poultry farm owner.
Confirming the incident, veterinary deputy director Amiya Kumar Mohanty said as the coolers in the closed environment-controlled farm stopped working, the shed turned extremely hot and the chickens died of suffocation.
The incident has triggered concern among poultry farmers and business operators, particularly as the district continues to experience intense summer heat. Environment-controlled poultry farms are heavily dependent on uninterrupted electricity and fuel-operated backup systems to maintain cooling and ventilation.
Notably, Malkangiri district has been witnessing acute shortage of both petrol and diesel over the past few days. Long queues of vehicles are seen outside filling stations across the district as people struggle to obtain fuel. The shortage has reportedly affected transportation, agriculture and other essential services.