BHUBANESWAR: Amid mass culling of chicken in Pipili over bird flu outbreak, Bhubaneswar mayor Sulochana Das on Saturday advised residents of the city to avoid consuming chicken for a few days.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) also asked poultry wholesalers and vendors not to buy birds from the affected areas on the outskirts of the city. “The corporation is closely monitoring the situation,” Das said.
BMC commissioner Rajesh Pravakar Patil urged poultry and meat traders to take adequate precautions and share information on supply of chicken with the enforcement squads of the civic body. He advised the traders to contact veterinary and ward officers if they detect any illness among the birds. This apart, he directed them to maintain proper hygiene and wear masks while handling chicken.
“Traders and workers of such shops should also go to a doctor immediately if they feel uneasy or show symptoms of cough, sneezing or fever,” the BMC commissioner advised.
He warned that shop owners found not complying with the civic body’s notice will face action.
Traders, on the other hand, expressed concern over their chicken business being hit by the outbreak. “Our business has dropped by 60 to 70 per cent in the last three days as people are hesitant to buy chicken due to bird flu fear,” said a chicken shop owner at Kochilei haat in Rasulgarh.
He said the price of chicken which was Rs 240 per kg before the outbreak has dropped down to around Rs 200 in just three days. “The supply has also been hampered owing to the bird flu scare,” he said adding, they get their chicken supply mostly from the unaffected areas of Nakhara and Odaspur.